1 




Class J 



)()UJV 



PRESENTED BY 









POLITICS AND RELIGION IN THE 
DAYS OF AUGUSTINE 



BY 

EDWARD FRANK HUMPHREY, A. M. 

Instructor in History in Columbia University 



&rc 



SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS 
FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY 

IN THE 

Faculty of Political Science 
Columbia University 



NEW YORK 
1912 



POLITICS AND RELIGION IN THE 
DAYS OF AUGUSTINE 



BY 



EDWARD FRANK HUMPHREY, A. M. 

Instructor in History in Columbia University 



SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS 

FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY 

IN THE 

Faculty of Political Science 
Columbia University 



NEW YORK 
1912 






Copyright, 1912 

BY 

EDWARD FRANK HUMPHREY 



out 

OCT 1 Wk 



CONTENTS 



PAGS 

Introduction 1 1 

CHAPTER I 
The Situation in the Year 395 

I. Political : 395 as an Epoch-Marking Year; The Policies of Theodosius; 

His Death; Successors, Arcadius and Honorius; Their Ministers, 
Rufinus and Stilicho; Their Rivalry; Stilicho's Claim to the Guardian- 
ship of Both Princes; The Barbarians in the Situation; Stilicho in 
Greece; Death of Rufinus 14 

II. Religious: Elusive Nature of Religious History; Its Importance for this 

Period; Why Sources are Wanting; Eunapius; Olympiodorus; Philo- 
storgius; The Chief Sources, Claudian, Symmachus, Prudentius, Zosimus 
(as an Epitome of Eunapius and Olympiodorus) 26 

III. The Theodosian Code; Its Importance; Religious Policies of Stilicho; 

of Rufinus; The Arian Barbarians in Greece « 45 

CHAPTER II 
The Outcome of the Religious Conflict in the East 
Eutropius; Character and Antecedents; His Religion; Laws against 
Heretics; Against Pagans; Relations with Chrysostom; Chrysostom's 
Attitudes toward Pagans, Heretics and Jews; Revolt of Gainas; Fall 
of Eutropius; Chrysostorn's Control of the Situation; Tolerance for 
Heretics, Suppression of Pagans; The Laws; Porphyry of Gaza; Coun- 
ter-Revoluiion of the Year 400, Restoration of the Roman Orthodox 
Party; Synesius an Example of the Union of Orthodoxy and Hellen- 
ism; Fall of Chrysostom; Settlement of Relation of Church and State. 58 

CHAPTER HI 
The Revolt of Gildo 
African Situation; Church in Danger from Pagan Influences; Church Coun- 
cil Oppose this; Augustine and Paganism; The Donatist Peril; Its 
Alliance with Paganism; Change of African Churches Leaders; Coun- 
cils and Heresy; Augustine and Proculian; Gildo and Optatus; Stili- 
cho's Use of the Orthodox Party; Monks of Caprari; Suppression of 

7 



8 CONTENTS 

PAGE 

the Revolt; New Roman Officials in Africa; Laws against Heretics 
and Pagans; Destruction of the Temples; Trouble at Suffectum; No 
Change in the Roman Situation 84 

CHAPTER IV 

The Donatist Situation to the Fall of Stilicho 
Repression of the Circumcellicnes; Attempts on the Part of the Church to 
Arrange Conferences with the Donatists; Augustine's Arguments with 
Petilian; Laws of 405 "Brand the Donatistsas Heretics; Waning of the 
Influence of Stilicho; The Laws Show his Continued Tolerance 109 

CHAPTER V 

The Revolution of the Year 408: Catholic Supremacy 
Domestic Troubles; Usurpation, invasions, revolts, succession; Stilicho is 
overthrown by the Catl olic party under lead of Olympius; Augustine's 
relations with Olympius; Laws resulting from Catholic supremacy; 
Augustine's " About-Face " on Matters of Toleration 128 

CHAPTER VI 

Augustine's Relations with Paganism after 408 
Trouble at Calama; Confession would free from punishment, fear of tor- 
tures; Augustine's efforts to convert the intellectual aristociacy; His 
Attitude tcward Cicero and Classical Literature; feiege and Sack of 
Rome; Temporary relaxatif n of persecutions; 'lhe Law of the Year 
415; The City of God; Paul Orosius' History for the Common People; 
Persistence of Paganism 147 

CHAPTER VII 

Suppression of the Donatists 
Severity of the Proconsul; Augustine tiies to lessen this; Attitude of the 
Emperor tovard official tolerance; Iteration act of 410; Protest of 
Church Council; Annu ment and Emperor's Call for a Council; Coun- 
cil of Carthage 4 r 1 ; Its Decisiors against Donatists; Emperor's Edict 
of 412; Enfcrcement by a special Imperial Commissioner, Marcellinus, 
a tool of Augustine; His Irstiuctions from Augustine; Law Applied 
to Primianists and Maximianists; Confiscations; Augustine's New Ideas 
of the legitimate use to be made of the laws of Repression; Con- 
versions; Resistance; Donatists overthrow Marrellinus; Csecilianus, 
successor; Laws confirmed and strengthened; Reorganization of 
Church necessitated by conversions: provided for by Councils; The 
Irreconcilables 170 



CONTENTS 9 

PAGE 

CHAPTER VIII 
Augustine and the Manich^eans, Pelagtans and Arians 

I. The Manichaean Situation. Augustine's Earlier Philosophic Gmbat: 

His general tolerant attitude toward this Sect; Severity of the Law; 
Extent of Manichseism 400; Augustine combats Fortunatus; Perse- 
cution of 399; Faustus; Felix; Laws of the year 405; Augustine's 
silence; Latter Edicts 198 

II. The Pelagian Heresy. Its Importance: Pelagius; Celestius; Council 

of Carthage; Augustine begins combat; He sends Orosius to Orient; 
Eastern Councils; Jerusalem and Diosi olis; Orosius, Jerome and 
Augustine disappointed; Return of Crosius; Africa Aroused; Council 
of Carthage; Council of Mileve; Africa dictates to Innocent; He 
acquiesces; Zosimus' Attempt at Independence; Carthage defies the 
Roman Bishop; Zosimus gives in; Honorius condemned Pelagianism 
418 203 

III. Arianism, Count Boniface and the Vandals — Death of Augustine . . . . . 212 



\ 



PREFACE 

The following essay on Politics and Religion in the 
Days of Augustine takes up the story of the religious con- 
flict in the Roman world from the year 395, the date of 
the death of Theodosius, and carries the narrative down to 
430, the date of the death of Augustine. It covers the 
period during which Augustine, as an official of the African 
Church, was a participant in the struggle, and since Augus- 
tine in this capacity came to dominate the situation, his 
official career marks a distinct period. The earlier activi- 
ties of Augustine naturally do not come within the scope 
of this survey, nor does it include any detailed examination 
of his position as a theologian. As far as possible, the 
author has confined himself to the distinctly historical 
aspects of the struggle through which the West became 
Christian and orthodox, and has presented this historical 
survey, for the most part, in the words of the original 
documents themselves. 

The author wishes to emphasize his deep sense of obli- 
gation to Professor James T. Shotwell, of Columbia Uni- 
versity. It was in his seminar on " Paganism and Chris- 
tianity " that plans were developed for a series of studies 
to treat of the conflict of religions fully and impartially in 
the light of all the available documentary evidence. These 
ideals have been kept constantly in mind by the author in 
preparing this essay. Thanks are also due Professor 
Munroe Smith, of Columbia University, for his valuable 
suggestions. The writer wishes to acknowledge a debt of 
gratitude to Professor Carlton Huntley Hayes, of Colunv 

5 



6 PREFACE 

bia University, for the hours spent in the revision and cor- 
rection of manuscript. The efficiency of the librarians of 
the Bibliotheqae Nationale, the Bibliotheque de la Sor- 
bonne and of the Columbia University Library have greatly 
aided in hastening the completion of the work. 

E. F. H. 
Columbia University, New York, March, 1912. 



INTRODUCTION 

This study is intended to show the extent and character 
of the religious struggle between Christians and pagans 
and between heretics and the orthodox in the late fourth 
and early fifth centuries — those eventful years during 
which the Roman Empire was, for the first time, facing 
genuine barbarian invasion. In the eyes of most historians, 
until very recently, the thing of supreme importance dur- 
ing this period is the " Germanic Invasion ". This has 
naturally been the dominant view of German scholarship, 
and the influence of Gibbon has emphasized it to a similar 
degree with the English-speaking people. The modern 
Germans have been, however, chiefly interested in the 
emergence of the " Teuton " — whoever he may be — upon 
the scene, while the English have centered their attention 
rather upon the antique culture and its disappearance. 
But the protest of Fustel de Coulanges against the assump- 
tions of Teutonism and his destructive criticism, as a sort 
of scholarly revanche, robbed the imperialist Germans of 
much of their historic ancestry, and at the same time called 
attention to other interests of the time. He pointed out 
that although the Romans themselves seemed fairly insen- 
sible of the gradual transformation of their empire into 
Germanic kingdoms, on the contrary they were much 
wrought up over the struggles of religion. 1 More recently, 

1 Fustel de Coulanges, Histoire des institutions politiques, vol. i, bk. 3. 
L'Invasion germanique (Paris, 1875), p. 354. Mais il y eut alors dans 
Rome merae, une series de querelles que les chroniqueurs ne racontent 
pas et dont ils laissent seulement voir le charactere general. La societe 

11 



12 POLITICS AND RELIGION 

Dill has shown how little disturbed were Roman men of 
culture at the intrusion of those barbarians x who for years 
had been their companions in arms and whose sack of 
Rome itself did not lessen confidence in the eternity of 
their city. This newer estimate of the sources of the his- 
tory of the " Decline and Fall ", which has been presented 
in a detailed study by Professor Carlton Huntley Hayes, 2 
has at the same time thrown the emphasis again upon the 
conflict of religions. It was perhaps as important for 
Europe and the world that the orthodox Christian religion 
should triumph over both pagan and heretic, as it was that 
antique culture should be entrusted to the slight mercy of 
barbarians of more or less Germanic origin. In any case, 
that was the struggle which absorbed the interest of the 
best intellects of the day, and to that, not merely as a chap- 
ter of Church history, but as an epoch in the social and 
political history of Europe this study is directed. 

The sources are, naturally, much more abundant for this 
subject than for the invasions, simply because men were 
more interested in it, at least the men who left the sources 
of history. The value of these sources is, however, not 
easy to estimate; and definite details are often unrecorded. 
One may say that, as a whole, they are scanty for Rome 
itself, previous to its threatened destruction by Alaric, 
while they are abundant for Africa and the East. But the 
history of the East is extremely complicated by reason of 
the variety of its heresies, religions and civilizations. 
Africa, on the other hand, the residence of the greatest of 

Italienne etait alors divisee entre le parti paien et le parti chretien; 
car clans ces temps ou les historiens modernes out cru voir une lutte de 
races, les hommes etaient surtout occupes d'une grande lutte religieuse. 

1 Samuel Dill, Roman Society in the Last Century of the Western 
Empire (London, 1908). 

2 C. H. Hayes, An Introduction to the Sources Relating to the Ger- 
manic Invasions (New York, 1909). 



INTRODUCTION 



13 



the Fathers, Augustine — Africa which in the time of Au- 
gustine absorbed the thought and direction of Christendom 
— offers a much more suitable field for research. This 
study, therefore, is centered around the career of Augus- 
tine. During his lifetime took place that rapid develop- 
ment by which Christianity emerged from dependence on 
an all-powerful emperor, Theodosius, into an aggressively 
militant supremacy dependent on its own political leaders. 
This movement Augustine dominated both religiously and 
politically. Indeed his doctrines, formulated under the 
stress of active contest, eventually prevailed throughout the 
Christian world. 



CHAPTER I 

The Situation in the Year 395 

I 

As we are to trace the interaction of the political and 
religious elements in the struggle which finally resulted in 
the triumph of orthodoxy, the destruction of paganism 
and the subjugation of heresy, it will be well in the be- 
ginning to outline briefly the political situation. 

The year 395 which marks the change from the strong 
rule of Theodosius to that of his weak successors, Arcadius 
and Honorius, is the beginning of this conflict. Theo- 
dosius, after sixteen years of almost continuous struggle 
with barbarians, usurpers, heretics, orthodox and pagans, 
had in that year at last been able to master all factions. 
This was a difficult task in so vast an empire, composed as 
it was of many parties. The higher officials were ever 
anxious for more power; the populace was resentful of its 
financial^ burdens; barbarians were restless within and 
without the empire; religious foes, orthodox and hetero- 
dox of all descriptions, were ready to war against each 
other or to rebel against the emperor whenever there was 
the least indication that they might thereby gain strength. 
To preserve power among so many factions required a 
strong hand; to balance the contending forces required 
good judgment. Theodosius had power equal to that task. 
He had won the orthodox Christians by submitting him- 
self to baptism (380) / by listening to the advice of their 

1 Zosimus, Historia nova, ed. L. Mendelssohn (Leipzig, 1887), iv, 29. 
14 



THE SITUATION IN THE YEAR 395 



15 



leader Ambrose, and by submitting to him in matters re- 
lating to the cult. Then too, by a series of laws he had 
confirmed the Christian party in numerous privileges and 
had recognized Athanasian Christianity as the religion of 
the state. 1 At the same time he had checked Christian 
arrogance and conserved pagan support by retaining offi- 
cials of the pagan party to oversee the execution of the 
laws, 2 he had also respected pagan buildings and games. 3 
He had reduced the barbarians to order by admitting them 
into the empire, by enrolling them in the army and by 
accepting their leaders as members of his official house- 
hold. Any defection at any time by any faction or leader 
had been immediately and drastically punished. So thor- 
oughly had he overcome all opposition that the Latin poet 
Claudian might well predict a most prosperous consulate 
for the youthful representative of the great Anician fam- 
ily. 4 Claudian was undoubtedly seeking a powerful patron 
for his literary genius, yet his prediction had a sound 
basis. The pagan revolt of Eugenius and Abrogastes had 
just ended with the battle of Frigidus, September 5, 6, 394. ft 

Libanius, Eunapius and Symmachus, recognize that during the early 
years of Theodosius' reign there was complete freedom for the pagans. 

1 Codex Theodosianus, xvi, 5, 5, (379) ; xvi, 2, 25, (380) ; xvi, 2, 26, 
(381) ; xvi, 2, 27, (390) ; xvi, 2, 28, (390) ; xvi, 1, 2, (380). 

2 Symmachus, Cons., 391. Flavianus, Prefect of It., 391. Richomer, 
Cons., 384. 

3 Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum, ed. Mommsen (Berlin, 1893), vi, 
512. 

4 Claudian, Panegyricus dictus Probino et Olybrio, ed. Birt, M. G. H. 
And. Antiq., vol. x (Berlin, 1892). Jerome, £/>., 130, 7. (Ammianus 
Marcellinus, Rerum gestarum libri, ed. Gardthausen (Leipsic, 1874-5), 
xxvii, 11, declares that it is not for us to decide whether the wealth of 
the family was acquired justly or not.) 

5 The treatment of this battle by our sources illustrates the change 
which was taking place between pagan and Christian history. Claudian, 
iii, De Consulatu Hon orii, 98, mentions a storm at the time of the battle. 



1 6 POLITICS AND RELIGION 

when Eugenius had sued for pardon and Abrogastes had 
committed suicide, more majorum. The Roman empire 
had shown that it possessed an emperor who could in 
reality rule the whole empire. To add to the security of 
the situation the church of the orthodox was under the 
careful guidance of Ambrose; the pagans were directed by 
the judicious Symmachus; while the Anician family in 
possession of the consulate represented both of these ele- 
ments. Power was well balanced. It was the unexpected 
death of Theodosius on January 17, 395, that removed the 
strong hand and freed the factions from control. The 
consulship of Olybrius and Probinus was not to be one of 
peace and prosperity; on the contrary, it marked a change 
of leaders and the beginning of a strife for power which 
did much to hasten the dissolution of the empire. Never 

So church historians — Socrates, Historia Ecclesiastica (Oxford, 1853), 
v, 25; Sozomen, Historia Ecclesiastica (Oxford, i860), vii, 24; and 
Theodoret, Historia Ecclesiastica (Oxford, 1854), v, 24 — ascribe the 
victory to the miraculous aid of God. The Cambridge Mediaeval His- 
tory (N. Y., 191 1 ), vol. i, p. 247, follows the church historians: "Theo- 
dosius called God and Heaven answered." 

1 The death of Theodosius affords a good example of the reliability 
of our sources. The Christian authorities would have us believe that 
this great defender of the faith died at a ripe old age, worn out by 
his efforts. Soc, op. cit, v, 26; Soz., op. cit., viii, 1. Theophanes 
and Kedrenos give his age as sixty. The Paschal Chronicle 
gives sixty-five. Socrates ascribes his death to anxiety brought on by 
•the fatigues of war. Hydatius' Chronicle mentions dropsy. But we 
know from more reliable, though pagan, sources that he died before he 
was fifty-five Aurelius Victor, a contemporary (Epitome, 48, Theodo- 
sius) gives fifty. Ammianus Marcellinus confirms this (op. cit., xxix, 
6, 15) when he speaks of Theodosius as still being a youth in the year 
375. Philostorgius the Arian, Ecclesiasticae Historiae Libri septem 
(Paris, 1673), xi, 2, asserts that Theodosius died as the result of sloth 
and intemperance. The Paschal Chronicle had the wrong year, 394. 
And Zos. (op. cit., iv, 59, 6) incorrectly locates the death on his jour- 
ney to Constantinople. He was buried there Nov. 8, 395. Soc, op. cit., 
vi, 1, Hydatius Chronicle. 



THE SITUATION IN THE YEAR 395 



17 



again could ambitious leaders argue calmly and judiciously 
as had Ambrose and Symmachus in their recent dispute 
over the Altar of Victory. Instead they took advantage of 
racial and religious differences to bring on actual conflicts. 
The struggle was one which was to end only with the tri- 
umph of orthodoxy. 

As successors Theodosius left two sons, Arcadius and 
Honorius, neither of whom possessed the experience or 
ability necessary to control the difficult situation. The 
elder, Arcadius, was eighteen 1 and had held the title of 
Augustus since 383. 2 But whatever experience this office 
had given would not compensate for his total lack of 
ability; none of the sources 3 credit him with competency. 
When Theodosius had realized that his end was approach- 
ing, he had summoned his younger son, Honorius, from 
Constantinople 4 under the escort of Serena, the wife of 
Stilicho, and invested him with the purple, 5 though he was 
not yet eleven. 6 But responsibility and power were not to 
be thrust upon a lad whose docile Christian character 
seems to have been accompanied by a lack of manly force. 7 

The real rulers were not these weak and irresponsible 

1 According to Socrates, op. cit., vi, 23. 

2 Cf. G. Rauschen, Jahrbucher der christlichen Kirche unter dem 
Kaiser Theodosius dem Grossen (Freiburg, 1897), 383, p. 146, note 2. 

3 Philostorgius, op. cit., xi, 3; Zos., op. cit., v, 8; v, 14; Synesius, 
De Regno (Migne, P. G., 66) ; Soc, op. cit. vi, 23 ; Theod., 
op. cit., v, 25 ; Jerome, Epistles, English Translation in Nicene and 
Post-Nicene Fathers, 2d series, vol. vi (N. Y., 1893), Ep., 123, 17. 

* Claudian, iii, Cons. Hon., 109 et seq. ; vi, Cons. Hon., 92 et seq. 
6 Ambrose, De obitu Theodosii. 

6 Born Sept. 9, 384, at Constantinople; cf. Rauschen, op. cit., p. 146. 

7 Theod., op. cit., v, 25 ; Orosius, Historiae adversus paganos libri 
septem, M. P. L. 31 (Paris, 1846), vii, 37; Jerome, Ep., 123, 17; Clau- 
dian, De Nuptiis Hon. et Mariae; Zos., op. cit., v, 28; Procopius, 
De Bello Gothico, i and ii. 



1 8 POLITICS AND RELIGION 

boys, but the powerful ministers, Rufinus and Stilicho, to 
whom Theodosius himself had entrusted much of the gov- 
ernment of the East and West. Stilicho had already been 
placed in command of the cavalry and infantry in the 
West, and Rufinus praetorian prefect in the East; and 
thus by the inevitable logic of events the removal of Theo- 
dosius left them rivals for the larger prize of imperial con- 
trol. Already jealous of each other, 1 at the death of Theo- 
dosius they were immediately forced to seek the support of 
various factions in order to secure their power. 

Flavius Rufinus, who owing to his mistaken policy was 
to control the East for but a short period, was born in 
Elusa in Aquitania — if we may trust this much of Claud- 
ian's account of him. 2 Just when or where he entered the 
imperial services is uncertain. 3 By 390 4 he was master 
of the offices and in 392 he became praetorian prefect and 
chief minister to Theodosius. Philostorgius 5 describes his 
robust and commanding appearance, his fierceness of eye 
and grace of speech. He possessed an insatiable desire 
for gold, 6 to gain which he sold offices indiscriminately. 
He was able to win power though not to preserve it. 

Stilicho, whose policies were to guide the empire in the 
West for the next thirteen years, was of Vandal origin. 7 

1 Claudian, In Rufinum, i, 297 et seq. 

2 Ibid.- i, 137, written 395 or 396. 

3 Symmachus, Aurelli Symmachi quae super sunt ed. O. Seeck. M. 
G. H., Auct. Antiq., vol. vi (Berlin, 1883), Ep., hi, 81-9, would indicate 
that his earliest service was at Rome. Seeck, Proleg., 139, thinks the 
date was 382 ; Claudian, In Rufinum, \, 171 et seq., seems to indicate 
Constantinople. 

4 Cod. Theod., x, 22, 3. 

5 Philostorgius, op. cit., xi, 3 ; confirmed by Eunapius, Fragmenta 
Historicorum Graecorum, ed. Miiller, 1868, Fr. 63, vol. iv, p. 42. 

6 Zos., op. cit., v, 1 ; Eunapius, op. cit. ; Claudian, In Ruf., i, 187 ; 
Jerome, Ep., 60, 16. 

7 Orosius, op. cit., vii, 38. 



THE SITUATION IN THE YEAR 395 T g 

In 384 we find him in the imperial service undertaking an 
embassy to Babylon. He was married to Serena, the niece 
of Theodosius, and successively filled the offices of count 
of the royal cavalry, 1 count of the home horse and foot 
soldiery, commander of the army in Thrace 385^ and com- 
mander in chief 393. 3 Were it not for the Theodosian 
Code it would be very difficult to estimate the nature of 
his administration. With Claudian 4 he is the paragon of 
virtues, in every way the savior of Rome. But we realize 
that Stilicho was Claudian's patron, and such lavish praise 
may have an economic interpretation. Olympiodorus, in 
a description which Zosimus has preserved, 5 tells us that 
Stilicho was the most moderate and just of all men who 
possessed great authority in his time; and, although a rela- 
tive of Theodosius, he never conferred military rank for 
money during his twenty-three years of power, nor con- 
verted the stipends of the soldiers to his own use. Euna- 
pius of Sardis, 6 who as a contemporary looked with dis- 
favor on Stilicho's apparent irresolution, classes Stilicho 
as equally guilty with Rufinus of confiscations and bribery. 
But inasmuch as Eunapius exhibits a tendency to credit 
all current evil rumors regarding the characters he is de- 
scribing, and as he was living in the East, where naturally 
Stilicho was very much in disfavor, we are disinclined to 
accept his estimate in this case. Our only sure guide to 

1 Claudian, Laus Serenae, 190. 

2 C. I. L., vi, 1730, 1734; ix, 4051. 

3 Cod. Theod., vii, 4, 18; vii, 9, 3; Zos., op. cit., v, 34. 

4 Claudian, De Consulatu Stilichonis. 

5 Zos., op. cit., v, 34. For this period Zosimus relies on Olympiodorus 
and Eunapius, from whom he extracts without an acknowledgment of 
his source. Unfortunately the present instance is not the only one 
where Zosimus quotes two mutually contradictory sources for the 
same historic fact. 

6 Zos., op. cit., v, 1. 



20 POLITICS AND RELIGION 

the character of his administration is the laws passed dur- 
ing it, and the total impression which they leave is that his 
policy was tolerant, just and efficient. 1 

The inevitable struggle between Rufinus and Stilicho 
broke out at once. Technically this struggle was based on 
Stilicho's assertion that Theodosius had bequeathed to him 
the guardianship of both princes and that this consequently 
entailed the supervision of the whole empire. Opinions 
which have reached us as to the validity of this claim are 
numerous and varied. Claudian, always pro-Stilicho, 
affirms it often and emphatically. 2 Nevertheless he shows 
no positive proof for it and he admits that there were no 
witnesses to the bequest. 3 ' Claudian's unsupported evi- 
dence is not of much value; but Ambrose, who as a friend 
of Rufinus 4 ought to be just to him, states Stilicho's 
claims in much the same manner as Claudian. Ambrose, 
who was present at the death of Theodosius, asserted in 
the funeral oration 5 delivered forty days later at Milan, 

1 Cf. infra, p. 47 et seq. for those on toleration and conciliation. 
He took an interest in the corporations and curiales, Cod. Theod., 
xii, 1, 142, 143, 144, 146; xii, 19, 1, 2, 3; the post, viii, 5, 53-55 ; corn- 
supplies, xiv, 15, 4 and 5; xiv, 19, 1. 

2 Claudian, In Ruf., ii, 5-6; iii, Cons. Hon., 143 et seq.', iv, Cons. 
Hon., 433- 

3 Claudian, iii, Cons. Hon., 142; Cunctos discedere . . . jubet. 
* Ambrose, Ep., 52. 

5 Ambrose, de Obitu Theod. " De filiis enim nihil habebat novum 
quod conderet . . . nisi ut eos praesenti commendavit parenti." Richter, 
De Stilichone, 24, 25, stamps this scene as a device; also Birt, op. cit., 
Prol. 28; and Koch, Stilicho und die Ereignisse der lahr 395-39$ j in 
Rhein. Mns., xliv, 591. Richter holds that Honorius and Ambrose say 
this in order to strengthen the Emperor's confidence in Stilicho. Birt 
supposes that the Emperor had charged Stilicho not to undertake hos- 
tilities against the East and that Stilicho's claim to supremacy was not 
made until after the death of Rufinus. Rauschen, op. cit., 446, raises 
the question as to whether a personal rather than a political guardian- 
ship was not intended. 



THE SITUATION IN THE YEAR 395 2I 

in the presence of the court and the army, that Theodosius 
had commended both princes to Stilicho. Olympiodorus, 1 
the Greek historian of Thebes, confirms Claudian and Am- 
brose. The vagueness of the commendation, however, 
seems but a slight basis for a claim to dominion over the 
entire Roman empire. The contemporary Eunapius 2 uses 
the same term for Rufinus and Stilicho — both were guar- 
dians, tutores. Authorities who oppose Stilicho are apt 
to quote Zosimus in support of their position, apparently 
not realizing that his work is of little value in itself; that 
it was not compiled until the last half of the fifth century; 
and that, while in the extracts from Eunapius 3 he opposes 
Stilicho's claim, when he quotes Olympiodorus he favors 
it. 4 Orosius, 5 who wrote in the year 417, and whose au- 
thorities are unknown to us, speaks of the power of both 
as equal. In any case Stilicho advanced his pretention to 
the guardianship of the whole empire, and this was a suffi- 
cient pretext for an almost inevitable struggle. Once the 
pretext, or justification, was found, it was easy to force 
on the conflict. There were not only religious enmities, hos- 
tile sects, creeds and religions to draw upon, but the empire 
contained, as well, unassimilated hordes of barbarian 
soldiery, ready for an enterprise and eager for plunder. 
Early in the year the Goths were restless. The sources 

1 Olympiodorus of Thebes, Miiller, op. cit., iv, 58 ; Photius, Bib. 
Cod., 80. " Narrat itaque Stilichonem ad magnam pervenisse poten- 
tiam, quum eum Theodosius Magnus parens ipse suis liberis Arcadio 
adque Honorio, tutorem imposuisset " (395). This work covers the 
years 407-426. 

2 Eunapius, op. cit., Frag., 63, vol. iv ; Miiller, " Hie Autem et Stilicho 
erant tutores filiorum Theodosii." 

3 Zos., op. cit., iv, 57 ; iv, 59. 

4 Zos., op. cit., v, 4; " Quippe dicebat ab Theodosio morituo sibi 
datum in mandatis ut omni cura principem utrumque complecteretur." 

6 Orosius, op. cit., vii, 37, 1. 



22 POLITICS AND RELIGION 

are confused as to the reason for this. Claudian x quite 
naturally charges it to the account of Rufinus, but this 
charge would not count for much if it were unsupported. 
Zosimus 2 says that Rufinus incited the rebellion knowing 
that Alaric was disgruntled at not having received a mili- 
tary command — magister militum — similar to that granted 
to Gainas, who commanded the Goths at Frigidus. Jor- 
danes, writing very much later, in the reign of Justinian, 
and relying on Cassiodorus as his source, a assigns as the 
cause the refusal of the customary subsidies. We know 
that Rufinus had been disappointed in his plan for marry- 
ing his daughter to the emperor, that the troops of the 
empire were in the West with his rival Stilicho, and that 
at home he was surrounded by such enemies as invariably 
are made by a policy of religious intolerance and political 
despotism. It seems probable that, as one of the means for 
supporting his cause, he tried to take advantage of the 
restlessness of the barbarians, which Eunapius shows 4 ex- 
isted even before the death of Theodosius. In February 
or March the Goths chose Alaric as leader and began their 
incursion into the East. We have no reliable account of 
their movements. According to Claudian, 5 our sole au- 

1 Claudian, In Ruf., ii, 22 ; Rauschen, op. cit, p. 435, considers Clau- 
dian's charge as ill-bred slander; Tillemont, Histoire des Empereurs 
(Paris, 1 690- 1 738), v, 426, credits Claudian. 

2 Zos., op. cit., v, 5. 

3 Jordanes, De rebus Geticis, ed. Mommsen in M. G. H., Auct. Antiq., 
v (Berlin, 1882), xxix, 146. 

4 Eunapius, op. cit., vol. iv, Frag. 60. See Zos., op. cit., iv, 56; 
Giildenpenning, A., Geschichte des ostromischen Reichs (Halle, 1885), 
p. 2, connects the uprising with Theodosius' death, " Der Tod dieses 
■weit auch unter den Barbaren gefiirchteten Gegners andererseits das 
Signal zu Aufstanden im Innern wie zu Einbriichen von aussen 
geworden ist." 

5 Claudian, In Ruf., ii, 30 to 100. 



THE SITUATION IN THE YEAR 395 2 ^ 

thority, Cappadocia and the basin of the Halys were rav- 
aged and all Cilicia overrun. Syria was invaded and the 
land between the Adriatic and the Euxine was devastated. 
Thessaly, Pannonia, Mysia and Thrace having been laid 
waste, Alaric approached Constantinople, and devastated 
the surrounding country, Rufinus' estate alone excepted. 
Then Rufinus put on the Gothic costume and went to 
Alaric's camp. And after their interview Alaric withdrew 
westward to Macedonia and Greece. 

At this same time the Huns were invading the East. 
Jerome * tells us that numerous monasteries were sacked, 
that rivers of blood were shed, that Antioch was besieged 
and the cities on the Halys, Cydnus, Orontus and the Eu- 
phrates invested, that troops of captives were taken in 
Arabia, Phoenicia, Palestine and Arabia. He also com- 
plains 2 of the absence of the Roman army, detained in the 
West by civil war. Rufinus has been made responsible 
by Sozomen 3 for all these disasters. Claudian 4 and Oro- 
sius 5 accuse him of having invited barbarians into the em- 
pire, not distinguishing between Huns and Goths. Sozo- 
men, writing about 454, definitely charges him with bring- 
ing in the Huns. There is evidence that Rufinus did try to 
support himself by the barbarian forces at hand. 

Early in the year 395 Stilicho crossed the Alps, con- 
ducted a short campaign, and concluded with the Franks 
and the Alemanni a peace which was to last for a hundred 
years. Having collected troops he started East. He 
crossed the Alps, 6 marched through Pannonia into Thes- 

1 Jerome, Ep. 60, De Nepotiano, written 396. 

3 Jerome, Ep. 77, Ad Oceanum. 

8 Soz., op. cit., viii, I. 

A Claudian, In Ruf., ii, 22 et seq. 

5 Orosius, op. cit., vii, 37. 

6 Claudian, In Ruf., ii, 124. 



24 POLITICS AND RELIGION 

saly and prepared to battle with the insurgent Goths. 1 In 
the meantime Rufinus, greatly frightened at the approach 
of his rival, persuaded Arcadius to sign 2 the order com- 
manding Stilicho to evacuate Greece and to send the east- 
ern legions back to Constantinople. Stilicho's action casts 
significant light upon the theory of the unity of the empire. 
He complied with the emperor's command s and returned 
to Italy. The eastern troops under the command of Gainas, 
a Goth, marched to Constantinople, but on the way formed 
a plot against Rufinus. When the Emperor and his prae- 
torian prefect rode forth to review the army, Rufinus was 
surrounded and killed, November 27th, 395.* Claudian's 
poem, as a whole, implies that Stilicho was accessory to this 
plot, and Zosimus 5 states it, though the evidence is so slight 
and contradictory 6 as to be of little real value. Stilicho's 
recall had left Alaric free to ravage Greece. Claudian's 
interest in Greece ceases after Stilicho had left it y and so, 
for Alaric's campaign until the return of Stilicho, we arc 
forced to rely mainly on Zosimus, who strangely confuses 
Stilicho's first and second expeditions. From him we 
learn that Gerontius commanded the pass of Thermopylae. 
a post given him by Rufinus. 7 After a feeble resistance in 

1 Claudian, In Ruf., ii, 171. 

2 Ibid., ii, 144-168. 

3 Ibid., ii, 217; Zos., op. cit., v, 7. That the Empire was still re- 
garded as a unit is shown by the fact that the edicts of the emperors 
are still issued in the name of both emperors. 

4 Claudian, In Ruf., ii, 400-427; Soc, op. cit., vi, 1, for date. 
Chron. Paschale. 

5 Zos., op. cit., v, 7, 8. Rauschen, op. cit., p. 442, does not credit 
this. 

6 Claudian, de Cons. St., ii, 212. Claudian never mentions Gainas, and 
in places seems to imply that the uprising was spontaneous on the part 
of the soldiers. 

7 Zos., op. cit., v, 5 ; cf. Eunapius, Vita Maximi. 



THE SITUATION IN THE YEAR 395 2 - 

the pass, the barbarians devastated Boeotia, slight opposi- 
tion being offered by the Proconsul Antiochus, another of 
Rufinus' appointees. Perhaps the presence of the Huns in 
the East prevented the sending of troops to reinforce these 
officials. Boeotia and Central Greece were laid waste. 
Thebes escaped, thanks to its walls and the hurry of the 
Goths to reach Athens. From Athens Alaric passed on 
into the Peloponnesus and took Corinth, Argos and Sparta. 1 
Stilicho seems to have made a second expedition into 
Greece in 396. 2 Just why he should return is difficult to 
determine. The sources for this campaign are so con- 
fused as to be almost unintelligible. The date even of the 
expedition may be argued as 395, 396 or 397. But from 
the general sequence in Claudian, supported by Jerome, 3 
who locates the Goths in Greece in 396, the weight of evi- 
dence is for 396. Stilicho seems to have gained a victory,'* 
but again the barbarians escaped. This may have been due 
to another command from Arcadius, or to a treaty public 
or private, or to the conduct of Stilicho, who, as Zosimus 
claims, gave himself up to luxury and indulgence while 
his soldiers turned to free-booting expeditions, or — were 
we to accept the year 397 — to the uprising of Gildo. In 
any case, Stilicho left Greece a second time with Alaric 
there. At this point an event in Africa — the revolt of 
Gildo — adds a new element to the already complex situa- 
tion, and shifts the center of our interests. 5 Such, in hur- 
ried outline, was the general situation in 395. Let us now 
glance at the character of our most important sources. 

1 Zos., op. cit., v, 6; Claudian, In Ritf., ii, 179-191 ; de Bello Gothico, 
180-193. 

2 Zos., op. cit., v, 7. He confuses the two expeditions. 

3 Jerome, Ep. 60. 

* Claudian, iv, Cons. Hon., 461-483. 
5 Cf. infra, Chap. 3. 



26 POLITICS AND RELIGION 

II 

Religious history is much less definite than political his- 
tory. In the place of events, movements of men, and de- 
scriptions of states, it gives us beliefs, theological discus- 
sions — intangible and elusive phenomena of thought. Its 
sources are hard to estimate. It is not easy to extract from 
treatises on dogma or narrow partisan accounts the real 
story of religious conflicts. Difficult as this is when the 
struggle is directly between two religions or between a re- 
ligion and a government, it becomes doubly so when we 
have such a complexity of religious struggles as existed in 
the period under review. 

Our sources are fairly numerous but quite biased. Yet 
they would be at once more numerous and less one-sided 
had it not been for the triumph of the one orthodox party, 
which brought with it the suppression of all the literature 
of the opposition and the destruction of most of that al- 
ready existing. That pagan literature was no longer being 
produced was, however, no sure sign that the pagan spirit 
was suppressed ; — an abolition of external rites by no means 
necessarily entailed a renunciation of beliefs on the part 
of the persecuted. 

The histories of the contemporary pagan, Eunapius of 
Sardis, which covered the years 268-404, would be of 
greatest value to us for the years just previous to 404; 
but, unfortunately they are preserved only in the merest 
fragments. Another pagan, Olympiodorus, wrote twenty- 
two books of history as a continuation of Eunapius. They 
covered the twenty years on contemporaneous history from 
407 to 427. This work too is lost — all except fragments 
which are preserved in Photius, and the ideas it gave to 
the later historians, Sozomen, Socrates and Zosimus. 
Arian history suffered the same fate as pagan history. 1 

1 We have an edict commanding heretical literature to be burned, 



THE SITUATION IN THE YEAR 395 



2 7 



Philostorgius' (fl. 380-412) defense of the Eunomians and 
Arians, were it preserved, would throw much light on the 
story of that heresy. As it is, only the merest fragments ex- 
ist in Photius who says : "Ceterum haec historia encomium 
quidem est haereticorum: orthodoxorum autem crimina- 
tio atque vituperatio potius quam historia/'. So the 
source-material for but one side of our story remains; 
whatever was written for the oposition was destroyed. 
However, the greater part of its story was never written. 
It would not have been advisable to do so in the days when 
orthodoxy was triumphant. Augustine, in his City of 
God/ warns his opponents to be careful how they attempt 
to reply. So we are forced to rely almost wholly on the 
victors themselves for the account of how this success was 
attained, and naturally these same victors are more inter- 
ested in showing the glory of the truths which prevailed 
than they are in setting forth the possibly questionable 
means by which they were sometimes brought to triumph. 
Strangely enough in this surcharged atmosphere we 
have one cool-headed writer — and he is the main source 
for the period of Stilicho's rule. Claudius Claudianus did 
not enter the lists as pagan, heretic or orthodox; and as a 
result he seems to have been misunderstood — at least by 
the orthodox — and so to have become a puzzle to all sub- 
sequent historians. We know little of his life. Born prob- 
ably in Egypt, 2 he came to Rome before 395, 3 and there 

Cod. Theod., xvi, 5, 34 (398) : "We command that their books, which 
contain the substance of criminal teachings, be sought out with the 
utmost care and burnt before the eyes of the magistrates." 

1 Aug., City of God, v, 26. 

2 Claudian, Carmina Minora, 19, 3; 22, 56 and 59; 21, 4; 22, 20; 
Sidonius Apollinaris (Leipsic, 1895), ix, 275. His father may have 
been the Claudianus, brother of Maximus, Julian's teacher, mentioned 
by Eunapius. Vit. Soph., ace. to Birt, op. cit., Introd., p. 6. 

3 Prosper, Chron., 395. 



2 8 POLITICS AND RELIGION 

began to write Latin verse. 1 His object was to win the 
support of a wealthy and powerful patron. As we have 
seen, he made advances to the consuls elect, Probinus and 
Olybrius of the great Anician house. 2 Not receiving 
recognition from them, he turned first to Rufinus Synesius 
Hadrianus, count of the sacred largesses in 395, master of 
the offices 400-405 and praetorian prefect of Italy 413-416; 
then to Florentinus; and finally to Stilicho. Probinus and 
Olybrius apparently did not recognize his value as a liter- 
ary agent 3 and did not respond to the panegyric of 394. 
An unfortunate remark 4 caused a violent breach with 
Hadrianus, and Claudian's ruin was prevented only by an 
apology. 5 By 397 he seems to have been in full favor with 
Stilicho, 6 and thereafter all his energies are devoted to the 
praise of that general. He himself tells us that he was 
absent from Rome 395 to 400. 7 His first post 8 entitled 
him to wear a girdle as a member in the militia. He was 
advanced to higher dignities, however, and from the statue 
erected to him at the command of the emperor and senate 
we learn that he was a tribune and notary. 9 His fortunes 
were also further improved by a suitable marriage with an 
African matron, who had been won through a letter of 

1 Claudian, ad Prob., 13. 

2 Claudian, Panegyricus dictus Probino et Olybrio Consulibus. 
8 Claudian, Ep. ad Prob.; ad Olybr. 

4 Claudian, Carm. Min., 21. 

5 Claudian, Carm. Min., 22. From these two poems the legend has 
grown up of Claudian's vain appeal to his countryman, Hadrianus, after 
Stilicho's overthrow. 

6 Claudian, iii, Consul. Hon. 

7 Claudian, Praef. Consul. Stil, iii. 

8 Claudian, Ad Hadri, v, 51, 52. 

9 C. I. L., vi, 1710; " C. Claudiano, viro clarissimo tribuno et 
notario." 



THE SITUATION IN THE YEAR 305 2 g 

introduction from Serena. 1 He disappears after 404, and 
Birt has concluded that that was the year of his death. 2 

In spite of the fact that Claudian's poems are chiefly 
panegyrical or invective, and therefore necessarily biased, 
they contain much reliable historical information. Claud- 
ian was a contemporary, holding office at 'the court and 
vitally interested in all that concerned Stilicho, the leading 
man of his day. He may have colored facts or omitted 
them, but inasmuch as he was writing for those as well in- 
formed as himself he was not at liberty to invent. All who 
have studied Claudian carefully agree that he is trust- 
worthy along political lines. His religious position has 
caused historians much discussion. Yet it need not. In an 
atmosphere of pagans and Christians, orthodox and her- 
etics, indifferents, irresolutes and cowards, Claudian's posi- 
tion was that of his master, Stilicho, and may be summed 
up in one word — toleration. He was of no sect: he was 
indifferent towards all religious questions. To his contem- 
porary, Augustine — and no one of the time could have 
been better informed concerning the exact religious posi- 
tion of all men of note — Claudian was neither pagan nor 
Christian. For all adherents of the pagan religion Augus- 
tine uses the term gentiles or pagani; but Claudian he 
merely terms an " alien from the name of Christ." 3 This 
colorless attribute is borne out by the poems of Claudian 
themselves, Throughout his writings it is impossible to 
detect any religious leanings. As Roman poetry they are 

1 Claudian, Carm. Min., 31. 

2 Birt, op. cit., 59. It is rather a far stretch of historical imagina- 
tion to conclude that his fall followed that of Stilicho in 408 owing to 
an epigram (no. 21) which had offended Hadrian. This is Dill's 
conclusion (op. cit., p. 44). 

3 Augustine, De Chitate Dei, v, 26, "A Christi nomine alienus." 



30 POLITICS AND RELIGION 

naturally filled with a mass of pagan allusions, yet these 
are purely literary and need not imply that the author ac- 
cepts or worships the gods mentioned. At the same time 
some of his poems have equally Christian allusions. He 
praises Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Dea Roma and Christ quite 
indiscriminately. At times in his allusions he seems to 
praise Christianity; 1 at other times to ridicule it. 2 In his 
use of sources, we find the same mingling of Christianity 
and Paganism: Horace, Virgil, Lucian, Ovid, Lucretius, 
Juvenal, Ambrose, Minucius Felix, Lactantius, Tertullian, 
Eusebius and the Bible. 3 

Such syncretistic tolerance naturally was less and less 
understood as the struggle developed, and one may see the 
process in his treatment by Orosius. Orosius's informa- 
tion was largely secondary and drawn from Augustine; 
but now Augustine's " alien from the name of Christ " be- 
comes " a most obstinate pagan." 4 We naturally prefer 
to accept Augustine's characterization; and yet Claudian 
has come down through the ages branded as a " pernicious 
pagan," and with this modern writers are prone to agree. 5 

1 Claudian, Carmen Min., 32, de Salvatore. 

2 Claudian, Carmen Min., 50 (Birt, op. cit., Intro. 64, note 2). "I pray 
you by the ashes of Paul, by the temple of old Peter, duke James, not 
to defame my verses. If you spare them, may Thomas protect you, 
Bartholomew be at your side in battles, the aid of the saints prevent 
the barbarians from passing the Alps and St. Susanna breath force to 
your heart." Cf. In Eut., i, 316; ii, Pref., 27. 

3 Birt, op. cit., introduction ; Glover, Life and Letters in the Fourth 
Century (Cambridge, 1901), 242. 

4 Paul Orosius, op. cit., vii, 35. "Poeta quidem eximius sed paganus 
pervicacissimus." Boissier, La Fin du paganisme (Paris, 1891), vol. 2, 
p. 281. " St. Augustine tells us that Claudian was pagan." 

5 Dill., op. cit., p. 2>7 ; Gaston Boissier, in loco, ii, 281 ; Glover, op. cit., 
204; Tueffel-Schwabe, History of Roman Literature (London, 1900), 
p. 439. In studying Claudian for the religious question one must be on 
his guard as to the edition used. There are but two editions that con- 



THE SITUATION IN THE YEAR 395 ^1 

There remains the perplexing question how a pagan, so 
pernicious, could express the Christian sentiment of the 
poem De Salvatore. The incompatibility had led to the 
expurgation of Claudian to suit his pagan reputation. It 
was only in 1892 that Theodore Birt, in preparing an edi- 
tion of Claudian for the Monumenta Germaniae His- 
torical decided that the Christian element was genuine 
and restored it. To justify this, however, he swung to the 
other extreme and made Claudian out to be a Christian in 
all except baptism, urging for this other examples of 
Romans who deferred baptism until near the time of their 
death. 2 This certainly seems to be going too far. There 
is little evidence for such a claim. It would seem safer to 
take Claudian's works and Augustine's statement to indi- 
cate that he, like his great patron, was not concerned per- 
sonally with religion. It is not possible to assign him to 
either party. 

More positive light is thrown on the religious situation 
by the correspondence of Quintius Aurelius Symmachus 
(340-402 or 409), the leading pagan of the last half of the 

tain all of his works, including those with a Christian bias ; Theo- 
dore Birt, op. cit., and J. Koch, Teubner Classics (Leipzig, 1895), 
which makes use of Birt's restorations. The editions of Pulmannus, 
Scaliger, Gesner, Konig and Jeep are expurgated. 

1 Birt, op. cit., intra-., p. 63; J. H. E. Crees, Claudian as an Historical 
Authority (Cambridge, 1908), follows Birt. 

2 Constantine long delayed his baptism and Valentinian died unbap- 
tized. Theodosius lived many years an unbaptized Christian, and was 
baptized only when he feared that he would die. The great and wealthy 
Petronius Probus was baptized only at his death, 395. The gaining of 
this leader of the Anician family was a great step for the Christians. 
Jerome had previously gained the women of the family. They were 
the ones to oppose the restoration of Paganism in 409. So important 
was this conversion that St. Peter's at Rome has the sarcophagus of 
Petronius Probus preserved in the same chapel with a column from 
Solomon's Temple and Michael Angelo's Pieta. 



32 POLITICS AND RELIGION 

fourth century. He was of a powerful family ; his grand- 
father, Aurelius Julianus Symmachus, was consul in 330; 
his father, Lucius Aurelius Avianius, was prefect 364-5; 
he himself held the consulship in 391 ; his son became prae- 
tor in 397; his grandson was consul in 446 and his great- 
grandson was father-in-law to Boethius; finally his two 
great-great-grandsons were consuls in 522. Historically 
his nine hundred letters, his reports to the emperor and the 
fragments of his orations give us very little information. 1 
This may be partly due to the fact that they were edited by 
his son, Fabius Symmachus, shortly after the father's 
death and possibly all dangerous political statements were 
removed. A more plausible explanation is that Symma- 
chus was not a great statesman, and his chief interest was 
in keeping the populace suplied with corn and games. His 
letters are literary efforts devised on petty themes — intro- 
ductions, congratulations, intercessions, appeals. The only 
time that he gives us real political history is in his letter to 
Stilicho regarding the revolt of Gildo. Even here his 
chief interest is in the food supply of Rome, perhaps 
strengthened by the fact that he had been proconsul of 
Africa at the time of the revolt of Firmus (373). 

In the writings of Symmachus as in those of Claudian 
there are but few references to religion. He never men- 
tions Christianity, while he discusses pagan practices only 
with leading pagans such as Praetextatus. 2 An occasional 
demand that an erring vestal virgin be surrendered to the 
pontifical college for punishment, 3 the record of the fes- 
tival of Magna Mater, 4 or arrangements for the games, 5 is 

1 Seeck, op. cit. 

2 Symmachus, Epp., i, 46, 47, 48, 51 ; cf. Epp., ii, 36, 34, 53- 
* Ibid., ix, 147, 148. 

4 Ibid., x, 3. 5 Ibid., v, 62 ; ix, 125. 



THE SITUATION IN THE YEAR 395 33 

all that he gives. In his plea for the restoration l of the 
altar of victory, he shows that he believes the position of 
the empire to be endangered by the neglect of the old re- 
ligion; yet he is not a rude or fanatical antagonist of Chris- 
tianity. A survey of his correspondence shows how the 
pagans and Christians of his times were living harmon- 
iously side by side. 

Eleven of his letters 2 were addressed to Praetextatus, 
one of the most learned theologians and most enthusiastic 
devotees in the ranks of the pagan nobles. 3 His monu- 
ment and that of his wife show the extent to which a really 
religious pagan of the end of the fourth century might 
turn to every other phase of the religious faiths in the 
syncretistic Roman world, while avoiding Christianity. 
Praetextatus was augur, priest of Vesta, priest of the 
Sun, curial of Hercules, consecrated to Liber and the 
Eleusinian deities, neocorus, hierophant, pater sacrorum 
and pater patrum, cleansed by the rite of the taurobolium 
in the mysteries of Mithra. His wife, Fabia Aconia Paul- 
ina, had been through the Eleusinian mysteries and the 
taurobolium. She was a devotee to Bacchus, Ceres, Cora, 
and Liber, hierophantria and goddess of Hecate, and a 
priestess of Isis. 4 Praetextatus rose to power under the 
pagan emperor Julian, 5 at whose death he went into a fif- 
teen years' political retirement. Theodosius in pursuing 
his policy of conciliating the pagan party drew him again 

1 Symmachus, Relation, 3. 

2 Symmachus, Epp., i, 44-55. 

8 Jerome, To Pammachius against John of Jerusalem, 8. "Misera- 
bilis P>aetextatus, homo sacrilegus et idolorum cultor": C. I. L., vi, 
1779, 2145. 

* C. I. L., vi, 1780. 

6 Amm. Marc, op. cit., xxii, 7, 6 ; Zos., op. cit., iv, 3 ; Seeck, op. cit., 
lxxxviii. 



34 POLITICS AND RELIGION 

into active service as praetorian prefect and he was consul 
elect when he died in 385. 

A second of Symmachus' correspondents was his cousin 
Virius Nicomachus Flavianus (334-395) — of the Anician 
family and an earnest pagan. 1 He also came to political 
power under Julian 2 and as vicar of Africa under Gratian 
seems to have incurred a rebuke from the emperor for his 
leniency towards the heretics. 3 In 391 he was prefect of 
Italy under Theodosius. He took a prominent part in the 
revolt of Eugenius and Abrogastes and obtained for the 
pagans the restoration of the Altar of Victory and the en- 
dowments for the sacred colleges. 4 He ended his life at 
Frigidus. 

In addition to these pagan correspondents — to whom 
must be added Richomer, the Frankish barbarian, who re- 
ceived fifteen letters 5 — Symmachus addressed a series of 
fourteen letters 6 to Stilicho whose religious policy of toler- 
ation we have already discussed. At the same time there 
were Christian correspondents, of whom the most eminent 
was Ambrose, bishop of Milan, his bitterest political and 
religious opponent, and yet a relative and friend. A letter 7 

1 Seeck, op. cit., cii; Epp., ii, 1-91. 

2 Amm. Marc, op. cit, xxxiii, 1-4. 

8 Aug., Ep., 87, 8; Cod. Theod., xvi, 6, 2; 5, 4; C.I. L., vi, 1782, 1783. 
Augustine classes Flavianus as a Donatist; the inscriptions show that 
he was vicar of Africa at this period; Cod. Theod., xvi, 5, 4, speaks 
of the " dissimulatione judicum " ; while Cod. Theod., xvi, 6, 2, which 
in some manuscripts is addressed to Flavianus, repeats the commands 
to enforce previous laws against rebaptizing. Cf. Seeck, op. cit., cxv. 

4 Paul, Vita Ambrosii, 26 ; Soz., op. cit., vii, 22 ; Aug., City of God, 
18, 23; Ambrose, Ep., 57, 6. 

5 Symmachus, Epp., iii, 54-69; Libanus, De Vita Sua (Leipsic, 1903-8), 
i, p. 136; Epp., 785, 926. 

6 Symmachus, Epp.. iv, 1-14. 

7 Aug., Confessions, ed. Gibb and Montgomery (Cambridge, 1908), 
v, 13. 



THE SITUATION IN THE YEAR 395 35 

from Symmachus to Ambrose secured for Augustine his 
appointment as professor of rhetoric at Milan. Seven 
letters x are addressed to Ambrose. In addition there is 
one to Bishop Clemens, and another to Bishop Severus. 2 
Three letters 3 are to a Jovius, possibly the one who over- 
threw temples in Africa in Augustine's day. 4 Ten are to 
Attalus, Alaric's puppet emperor — baptized as an Arian to 
please that barbarian chieftain. 5 One of his correspond- 
ents, Caecilianus, 6 was also a friend of Augustine. Pe- 
tronius Probus, 7 of the Anician house, whose wife and 
sons were devoted 8 Christians, received five of the letters 
Probus was baptized on his death-bed in 395. 9 Thirty 
letters 10 are to Ausonius, ten to Rufinus, 11 and four to At- 
ticus, 12 praetorian prefect of Italy and consul in 397, and a 
faithful Christian. 

What better evidence could we possess of the toleration 
of the times than this correspondence of Symmachus? He 
exchanged friendly letters with men of all shades of re- 
ligious opinions. Nor is he an exception. We see the 
same thing in the letters of Augustine, and doubtless, were 
the correspondence of other Romans of that period extant, 
we should find a similar state of affairs. 

I Symmachus, Epp., iii, 30-37 ; Ambrose, Ep., 57, 2. 
8 Symmachus, Epp., yii, 51 ; iii, 1 and 64. 

3 Ibid., viii, 30 ; ix, 50. 

* Aug., City of God, xviii, 54. 

5 Seeck, Sym., clxx ; Amm. Marc, op. cit., 28, 4, 3 ; Soz., op. cit, ix, 9. 

6 Aug., Ep., 151, 14. ' 

7 Symmachus, Epp., i, 56-61 ; Seeck, Sym., xci ; C. I. L., vi, 1752, 
1753, 1756. 

8 Prud., Cons. Sym., 1, 551 ; Jerome, Ep., 130, 3. 

9 C. I. L., 1756. 

10 Symmachus, Epp., i, 13-43. 

II Ibid., iii, 81-91. 12 Ibid., vii, 30-34. 



36 POLITICS AND RELIGION 

Symmachus furnishes us some slight material for the 
speculation, which has interested modern historians, as to 
when the majority of the Roman Senate ceased to be 
pagan. When Gratian, in 382, ordered the removal of the 
Altar of Victory from the Senate Chamber — a notable act 
of sacrilege according to our pagan sources — Symmachus 
headed the pagan deputation which was sent to protest to 
the emperor. He tells us that it was in the name of the Sen- 
ate that this appeal for the restoration of the statue was 
made. 1 Yet, Ambrose, the opponent of Symmachus, 
claims a Christian majority in the Senate. 2 The situation 
is made still more uncertain by the fact that after Sym- 
machus' departure for Milan, the same senators sent a 
protest to Damasus, bishop of Rome, who brought it about 
that Symmachus was not received by the emperor. Surely 
this vacillating policy must have been due to the fact that 
the Senate was pretty evenly divided. Ambrose 3 and Pru- 
dentius 4 could claim that it was Christian, while at the 
same time Symmachus 5 and, later, Zosimus 6 could de- 
scribe it as pagan. 

Some modern historians feel that it is possible definitely 
to determine majorities at this period. Among these, 
Victor Schultze, basing his estimates on the number of 
bishops present at church councils concludes that by the 
year 382 the pagans were in the majority in the Roman 
Senate. 7 On the other hand, G. Rauschen follows Am- 

1 Symmachus, Ep., x, 3. 

3 Ambrose, Ep., 17, 9 and 10. 

3 Ambrose, Ep., 17, 9 and 10. 

4 Prud., Contra Sym., i, 566. 
6 Symmachus, Ep., x, 3. 

6 Zos., op. cit., iv, 59. 
' ' Victor Schultze, Geschichte des Unter gangs der grlechisch-romischcn 
Heidentums (Jena, 1887-92), i, 225. 



THE SITUATION IN THE YEAR 395 ^ 

brose in claiming a Christian majority. 1 Both these esti- 
mates are misleading. The senate included many indiffer- 
ents and irresolutes, and it probably took not a little politi- 
cal management for either party to carry out its measures. 

Augustine gives us an interesting picture of the extreme 
diplomacy the Christian must exercise in trying to win the 
Senate to his policy. Writing to a Christian senator urg- 
ing him to work for the extension of Christianity in 
Africa, he speaks not only of " many like yourself, who 
are senators in the state and sons of the holy church," but 
also of many others who are so weak that " it is hazardous 
to give them this exhortation; they may refuse to follow 
it and the enemies of the Church will take advantage of it 
to deceive the weak. But it is safe for me to express gra- 
titude to you — and ask you to read this letter with friendly 
boldness to any to whom you can do so on the grounds of 
their Christian profession." 2 

An opponent of Symmachus was Aurelius Prudentius 
Clemens (348-410), the first distinctly Christian Latin 
poet. Born in Spain, 3 he received a pagan education. 4 
He became governor of a province and gained the highest 
court rank; but at the age of fifty-seven he resolved to de- 
vote the remainder of his life to writing about Christian- 
ity. 5 The most important of his works is his contra Sym- 

1 Rauschen, op. cit., 119. Gaston Boissier, op. cit., ii, 267 says: 
" Rome at the end of the fourth century passed as having a pagan 
majority. The Christians protested against this opinion, but it was 
nevertheless strongly believed." Samuel Dill, op. cit., p. 36, speaks of 
the Roman Senate as being " still pagan to the core " ; and p. 4, "At 
the close of the fourth century the majority of the Senate were little 
touched by the Christian faith, although the wives and daughters of 
some of them had adopted the most ascetic practices." 

2 Aug., Ep., 58 (401 A. D.). 

3 Prud., Peristephanon, vi, 146. 

* Prud., Contra Sym., i, 197-214- 5 Prud., Praef. 



38 POLITICS AND RELIGION 

machum, written probably in the year 403, and perhaps 
called forth by the restoration of the Altar of Victory to 
the Senate chamber. This poem is in two books, the first 
against the pagan religion in general, the second against 
Symmachus in particular. Its tone is tolerant. With him 
the church is not hostile to the state and he always speaks 
in a kindly way of Symmachus. He realizes that pagan- 
ism is not yet dead; against it he would use legal means 
but not violence. 1 He cites with evident approval the de- 
cree of Theodosius that works of art, even idols, 2 are to 
be preserved; he congratulates the emperors on admitting 
to public honors men of all cults. 3 He has no unkindly 
feeling even toward the pagan emperor Julian ; 4 yet for 
him Rome's destiny was to unify mankind that it might 
become one in Christ. In all his poems there is but one 
reference to Arianism, which would indicate that that 
heresy was not yet prominent in the West. 5 He sum- 
marizes his mission in the introduction to his works as 
follows : 6 "If I might not honor God by actions, I would 
at least celebrate him "in my verse ; with my hymns I would 
sanctify the hours of the day and the night should not be 
less consecrated to glorifying the Saviour; I would fight 
against heresy, defend the Catholic faith, destroy the 
pagan altars; I would hurl an invective, O Rome, at your 
idols, consecrate a poem to the martyrs and sing the glory 
of the apostles." 

We return to a pagan source again in the compilation 
from the lost works of Eunapius and Olympiodorus, the 
History of Rome by Count Zosimus (c. 450-501 ?). Of 
Zosimus we know little else than that he was a count and 

1 Prudentius, Contra Sym., i, 19-25. 

J Ibid., i, 503-506. 8 Ibid.) i, 19-24. 

4 Prud., Apotheosis, 450-463. 

5 Prud., Psychomachia, 794. 6 Prud., Praef., i. 



THE SITUATION IN THE YEAR 395 ^ 

advocate who lived in the East in the last half of the fifth 
century. 1 His historic credibility for the period of which 
we treat is not great, as he was not a contemporary nor an 
intelligent compiler ; he has a most decided pagan and anti- 
German bias; and he is interested primarily in Eastern 
affairs. His uncompleted work in six books comes down 
to the year 410. His attitude he expresses thus : " If the 
sacred ceremonies had been religiously observed as the 
oracle had ordered, the Roman empire would have con- 
served its power over all the world known to us. But 
because they have been neglected since Diocletian abdi- 
cated his sovereign authority, it has diminished little by 
little and has fallen under the domination of the barbar- 
ians, as it is easy for me to prove by the order of events." 2 
He was a firm believer in divinations, oracles and the 
Sybilline books. It was Minerva and Achilles who pre- 
served Athens from Alaric in 395. That a pagan in the 
Eastern part of the empire could publish such a book in the 
reign of Theodosius II or later is evidence that at least 
there paganism was still of importance. 

Over against these narrative and incidental sources, 
at best but doubtful guides, we have, fortunately, a col- 
lection of documents which must always serve the his- 
torian of this period as a touchstone for the rest — the 
Roman law. The Theodosian code is a collection of 
contemporary documents of the first importance, and 
of final authority wherever it can be applied and its 
scope and application determined. We have the state- 
ment in a constitution of Theodosius II itself of how the 
idea of a compilation grew up in his mind. 3 He felt 

1 Photius, Codex 98. 
2 Zos., op. cit., ii, 7. 

3 Const, de Theod. Cod. Auctoritate, \, 1, 5 (429). Cf. Mommsen 
and Marquardt, Manuel des Antiquites Romaines, vol. xvi; Krueger, 



4 o POLITICS AND RELIGION 

that it was necessary to facilitate their task of his juris- 
consults by an official compilation of the laws, whereby the 
sources of the law would be rendered more accessible. So 
he appointed a commission to classify by order of subject- 
matter, and to unite in a code, on the model of the Codices 
Gregorianus and Hermogenianus, the edicts and other gen- 
eral laws from the time of Constantine; not omitting those 
abrogated, since the date and chronological order would 
permit one to distinguish which were still in force. The 
constitutions were to be broken up into chapters and placed 
under different titles, if the subject-matter demanded it 
The text should be exactly reproduced, leaving out, how- 
ever, directions for publication, prefaces or expressions of 
motives. At the same time the Emperor proposed a more 
practical code which should contain only those constitu- 
tions still in force, together with some opinions of the 
jurisconsults. This first commission did not fulfil its task, 
however, and in 435 a new commission with instructions 
of a somewhat different nature was appointed. 1 It aban- 
doned the second part of the project and held only to the 
collection of constitutions. This commission was author- 
ized to abridge the laws inserted, to make additions, if in 
their opinion it should seem necessary, to modify a text 
if it contained ambiguous expressions or if the change 
would afford a happier expression. Also it was formally 
declared necessary to include in this code the laws appli- 
cable only in certain provinces or cities, a fact which in- 
finitely increases the difficulty of using them as historical 
sources. The work of this committee was published on the 
fifteenth of February, 438, and went into effect on the first 

Histoire des Sources du Droit Romain, pp. 381 et seq. (Paris, 1907)- 
Cf. Gothofredus, Prolegomena Codicis Theodosiani, p. 189, de usu et 
auctoritate codicis Theodosiani. 
1 Cod. Theod., i, 1, 6. 



THE SITUATION IN THE YEAR 395 ^ 

of January, 439. 1 With some exceptions all constitutions 
issued since Constantine the Great were to be abrogated if 
not in the code. And although the committee was in- 
structed to insert all general laws and was not authorized 
to lay aside any, we know that some were left out, either 
through negligence or owing to the insufficiency of ma- 
terials at hand. Some of the constitutions given are of 
almost no significance; some are purely transitory; some- 
times extensive use is made of the authority to abridge or 
modify the text. Errors in dividing constitutions at times 
are such that we can not be sure of texts appearing under 
appropriate titles. Occasionally the same constitution oc- 
curs under several titles. Texts were not always correctly 
modified. Such is the nature of the composition of the 
code proper. 

To the code must be added the Novcllae or laws of 
later dates. The decree of publication of the code de- 
cided, however, that new laws promulgated by anyvprince 
were to be applicable in the other parts of the Empire 1 only 
after they had been ratified by the prince of that section. 2 
The last of the sixteen books into which the code is divided 
deals with religious matters. The earlier books treat of 
private law, administration of the state, criminal law, fiscal 
law, organization and administration of local government. 

The ecclesiastical corporation (state church) was in a 
sense created by imperial constitution, and remained in 
law and in fact under the power of the monarch. From 
the legal point of view the church was dependent on the 
state; even the decisions of the councils in matters of faith 
were simply advice which the government received through 

1 Nov. Theod., i. 

2 Cod. Theod., i, 1, 5, 5. 



42 POLITICS AND RELIGION 

the medium of competent men and this advice was of 
juridic value only by virtue of imperial sanction. 1 

What is the attitude of the Theodosian Code toward 
heretics and pagans? This is a question which we cannot 
answer in full, as it carries us back over the whole history 
of the fourth century and farther into the fifth than this 
study goes. But in general we may summarize the posi- 
tion in 395 as follows. In the days when paganism was 
the religion of the state a religious offence became a crime 
against the state, ma jest as. So when Christianity became 
the state religion the charge of treason (majestas) still 
might be raised against pagans or heretics for acts of sedi- 
tion 2 or the offering of bloody sacrifices or consulting the 
steaming entrails. 3 

Full legal rights belonged only to the orthodox, all 
religious deviations entailed a diminution of civic re- 
spectability and frequently a restriction of liberties. Leg- 
ally, orthodoxy {fides catholica) was always the faith of 
the emperor, which under an Arian emperor such as Valens 
would mean Arianism. But after Theodosius, Gratian and 
Valentinian in 380 4 had established the Athanasian belief 
as the state religion, this was not again changed. Yet, 
previous to the period of which we treat, the difference 
between orthodoxy and heresy was not clearly defined, as 
is shown by the case of the Novatians. A law of 326 5 al- 
lowed this sect certain privileges which were denied to 
heretics, and this continued to be their position even to 

1 Cod. Just., i, 5, 8, 5, by which Valentinian III and Marcian estab- 
lished by law the decisions of the Council of Chalcedon. 

2 Ibid., xvi, 4, 1 (386). 

3 Ibid., xvi, 10, 12 (392). 

4 Ibid., xvi, 1, 2 (380) ; xvi, 5, 6 (381). 

5 Ibid., xvi, 5, 2 (326). 



THE SITUATION IN THE YEAR 395 ^ 

the year 428. x Although there was a general notion of 
heresy as any deviation from orthodoxy, 2 nevertheless at 
the death of Theodosius there was as yet no legal definition 
of a heretic. 

Punishment for heterodoxy was at first chiefly the loss 
of certain special privileges granted to the church: (a) 
They were refused the rights of reunion and association 
and the right freely to perform the acts of their cult under 
various penalties, as, segregation, confiscation of property 
and deportation. These rights had been withdrawn by the 
year 381 from all heretics. 3 It is to be noted that the right 
of congregation was in some instances forbidden only in 
cities. 4 (b) They were not allowed to possess churches or 
burial places. The rule was for the state to confiscate such 
places. 5 (c) Neither their association nor the authority 
of their leaders was to be recognized. 6 This principle was 
well established by the year 379. (d) By 381 those guilty 
of heresy were deprived of the right of transmitting or 
receiving property by intestate succession or by will, legacy 
or donation, under penalty of confiscation. 7 (e) Choice 
of a place of residence was restricted. 8 They could not live 
in the larger cities. 

At the close of the fourth century, the orthodox were 

1 Cod. Theod., xvi, 5, 65 (428). Justinian's redaction of this lav 
places them squarely with other heretics {Cod. Just., i, 5, 5). 
2/foU, xvi, 5, 5 (379). 

3 Ibid., xvi, 5, 6. By the year 410 a death penalty was attached ; ibid., 
xvi, 5, 51. 

4 Ibid., xvi, 5, 65. 

5 Ibid., xvi, s, 4 (376). We shall see these confiscated to the church 
in 408 {ibid., xvi, 5, 43; cf. infra, p. 134). 

6 Ibid., xvi, 5, 5 (379). 

7 Ibid., xvi, 5, 7 (381). 

8 Ibid., xvi, 5, 7 and 12. 



44 POLITICS AND RELIGION 

coming to treat the heterodox as non-Christian, and con- 
fused them with the pagans or gentiles. This occurs as 
early as 380, 1 although the distinction at law between the 
pagans and heretics 2 had not yet disappeared. 3 The 
legal status of the two classes was similar but not 
identical; the penalties in force against pagans were dif- 
ferent from those imposed upon heretics: (a) The 
pagans had lost their freedom of belief. This may have 
been begun under Constantine himself, 4 though the evi- 
dence for this supposition is very slight, consisting only of 
a reference, contained in a law of Constantine's sons, to 
an earlier similar act on the part of Constantine himself. 
Inasmuch as Eusebius does not mention this edict of Con- 
stantine, the probability is that it was never issued. The 
sons forbade blood sacrifices and in a general manner the 
worship of images. 5 They also closed the temples. 6 By 
395 not only had orthodoxy become the recognized religion 
of the state, but in a general manner, all acts of the pagan 
cult had been forbidden, 7 though popular fetes were still 
maintained. 8 (b) The property was confiscated, both of 

1 Cod. Theod., xvi, 1, 2. 2 Ibid., xvi, 5, 46 (409). 

3 In the Theodosian code a special title is devoted to the pagans, but 
in the Nov. Theod., ii, 3, we find them under the classification of 
"Jews, Samaritans, pagans and other kinds of heretics." 

4 Cod. Theod., xvi, 10, 2. Euseb., Vita C, 2, 44, 45. 

5 Cod. Theod., xvi, 10, 2 (346); ibid., xvi, 10, 6 (356), "vel colere 
simulacra." 

6 Ibid., xvi, 10, 4 (346) ; in this law maintenance of sacrifices in 
the temple is made punishable with death. In 385, ibid., xvi, 10, 9, the 
death penalty was added for taking auspices from the entrails of vic- 
tims. In 392, ibid., xvi, 10, 12, sacrifice and the taking of auspices from 
the entrails was made equivalent to the crime of majestas. 

1 Ibid., xvi, 10, 12 (392). In 451 a death penalty is attached to all 
interdicted acts of the cult. Cod. lust., i, 11, 10, 3. 

8 Cod. Theod., xvi, 10, 17 (399). 



THE SITUATION IN THE YEAR 305 ^ 

the temples, 1 and of such private individuals as authorized 
the acts of the cult or their domains. 2 (c) The loss of the 
right of testation 3 and the incurring of infamy 4 had been 
decreed against Christians who turned pagan. Loss of 
functions legally followed from infamy. However, by a 
law of the year 408 all enemies of the Christians 5 were 
to lose their public functions. 

Ill 

Such is, in general, the character of the sources of our 
information concerning the political and religious situation 
when Stilicho in the West and Rufinus in the East became 
responsible for the policy of the Empire. For, although 
the piety of both emperors would impose no obstacle to 
an increase in the power of the orthodox religion, it was 
doubtless the ministers rather than the emperors them- 
selves who directed the legislation in this as in other ques- 
tions. We must therefore look to the respective attitudes 
of Stilicho and Rufinus for any explanation of the de- 
velopment of this religious situation. 

As we have shown in our treatment of Claudian, Stili- 
cho's panegyrist, Stilicho followed a middle course in re- 
ligious matters; it is not possible to assign him to any re- 
ligious faction. Herein he had accepted the advice and 
followed the example of Theodosius. Such a policy 
worked well in peaceful times, but when the barbarian 

1 Cod. Theod., xvi, 10, 12 (392). 

2 Ibid., xvi, io, 12, 2 (392). Later the priesthood is suppressed 
ibid., xvi, 10, 14 (396). 

3 Ibid., xvi, 7, 1 (381). In Justinian's time these penalties were 
ordered applied to all pagans (Cod. Just., i, 11, 10, 1). Also all pagans 
were to be banished (Cod. Just., i, 11, 10, 3). 

* Cod. Theod., xvi, 7, 5 (391). 

5 Stilicho' s fall was followed by a general law of this nature. Cf. 
infra, p. 133; ibid., xvi, 5, 42. 



46 POLITICS AND RELIGION 

threatened destruction to the Empire, it failed: Stilicho 
was overthrown by the orthodox and was heartily con- 
demned by both parties. As a result, the historical writers 
were not fair to him ; and were it not for the edicts which 
have come down to us, we should be quite at a loss how to 
estimate his tolerant policy. 

The pagan, Zosimus, 1 blames him for taking the gold 
from the doors of the capitol, 2 and accuses his wife Serena 
of taking the gold necklace from the statue of Magna 
Mater to place around her own throat. And Rutilius 
Namatianus, 3 another pagan, condemns him for burning 
the Sibylline books and accuses him of letting the barbar- 
ians loose on the empire. 4 On the Christian side, Orosius 5 
blames him for placing in office a barbarian pagan, Saul, 
who offended the Christian God by forcing the barbarians 
to fight the battle of Pollentia on Sunday, and what is 
more serious, 6 charges him with wishing to make his 
heathen son, Eucharius, Emperor. Paulinus of Nola 7 
says that he violated the right of asylum of the church. 
Augustine does credit him with some service to the world 
when he says that Stilicho sent out to Africa laws for 
breaking the idols and correcting the heretics, 8 but Jerome 9 
lays on his shoulders all the troubles of the empire. These, 

1 Zos., op. cit., v, 38. 

2 Ibid., v, 38. 

3 Rutilius Namatianus Be Reditu suo (London, 1907), ii, 41, 46, 52. 
* Ibid., ii, 46. 

5 Orosius, op. cit., vii, 37, 2. 
8 Ibid., vii, 38, 1 and 6. 

7 Paulinus of Nola, i, 34. 

8 Aug, Ep., 97. 

9 Jerome, Ep., 123, 17. There is absolutely no justification for 
Baronius, Annates Ecclesiasticae, Ed. Mansi (Lucca, 1738-46), 395, 1, 
calling Stilicho " Idolorum cultus implacabilem adversarium." Tille- 



THE SITUATION IN THE YEAR 395 ^y 

however, are descriptions drawn after the close of Stili- 
cho's career and are those of writers disappointed with the 
outcome. Neither party had been satisfied. 

Stilicho's policy through his period of power was to pro- 
tect the rights of both parties. He respected and confirmed 
the rights of the church, 1 though he did not extend them; 
he tried rather to restrict them where he saw that they in- 
terfered with powers properly belonging to the secular 
government. 2 Pagan temples were protected as works of 
art and the pagan games were continued ; 3 the pagans were 
molested only when they caused trouble. In Stilicho's con- 
sulate it is even possible 4 that the pagan Altar of Victory 
was restored to the Senate Chamber in Rome, though the 
evidence for this is of slight value. The earliest acts of 
Stilicho show that he realized that the religious parties had 
a working basis which he attempted to preserve. He first 
assured the Christians that they were to enjoy the privi- 
leges already gained. The imperial edict of the twenty- 
third of March, 395, reads : 5 " We command that the dif- 

mont, Hist. Ecc. (Brussels, 1707), follows this and adds the somewhat 
astonishing proof (v. 484) that had he not been a Christian, Theo- 
dosius would not have given him Serena as a wife. 

1 Cod. Theod., xvi, 2, 29; xvi, 2, 30. 

2 Ibid., xvi, 11, 1. 

3 Ibid., xvi, 10, 15; cf. infra, p. 101 ; xvi, 10, 17 and 18. 

4 Birt, op. cit., pp. 57-8. Introd. infers that Victory was restored Jan- 
uary, 400, from these lines, De Cons. S title. , III, preface, 19, "Advexit 
reduces secum Victoria Musas." The poem of Prudentius, Contra 
Symmachum, was perhaps inspired by this restoration. Its purpose 
was to show that Rome's greatness was not due to the ancient Gods. 

5 Cod. Theod., xvi, 2, 29; de Episcopis, Ecclesiis et Clericis. (395 
Mart, 23) Impp. Arcad(ius) et Honor (ius) A A. Hierio Vicario 
Africae. " Quaecumque a parentibus nostris diversis sunt statuta tem- 
poribus, manere inviolata adque incorrupta circa sacrosanctas ecclesias 
praecipimus. Nihil igitur a privilegiis immutetur omnibusque, qui 



48 POLITICS AND RELIGION 

ferent imperial decrees of our predecessors regarding 
holy church shall remain inviolate and unchanged. Let 
none of the privileges be altered, and to all who serve the 
church let protection be afforded ; for we desire in our time 
rather to increase reverence than to change that which has 
been maintained from of old." This adds no new privi- 
leges and we should notice that it is directed to the vicar 
of Africa. Africa, as we shall see later, was a hot-bed of 
religious strife and this was in the nature of political meas- 
ure for the preservation of order. He adopted the same 
policy towards the pagans. On January the thirty-first, 
397, he enacted a similar law, adding therein that privileges 
enjoyed by the church were to apply to those who belonged 
to it. 1 Three imperial ordinances dealing with the pagans 
of the late revolt of Eugenius and Abrogastes were issued 
soon after he assumed power. Ambrose 2 tells us that 
Theodosius' last request of Stilicho was that he grant in- 
dulgence to the late rebels and one of the edicts preserved 
in the code 3 affirms that the laws issued were in accord- 
ance with such a request. The one of the twenty-first of 

ecclesiis serviunt, tuitio deferatur, quia temporibus nostris addi po- 
tius reverentiae cupimus quam ex his quae olim praestita sunt immu- 
tari. Sozomen, op. cit., viii, I, confirms this : ''Atque idcirco ea quae 
pro ecclesiarum utilitate a superioribus principibus decreta fuerant, 
propensiore animo confirmarunt et propria ipsi dona adjecerunt." 

1 Cod. Theod., xvi, 2, 30. " Non novum aliquid praesenti sanctione 
praecipimus, quam ilia, quae olim videntur indulta, firmamus. Privi- 
legia igitur, quae olim reverentia religionis obtinuit, mulilari sub 
poenae etiam interminatione prohibemus, ita ut hi quoque, qui ecclesiae 
obtemperant, his, quibus ecclesia, beneficiis perfruantur." 

2 Ambrose, De Obitu Theodosii, 5. " Praecepit dari legem indul- 
gentiae quam scriptam reliquit." 

3 Cod. Theod., xv, 14, 11. "Fas est sequi nos paternae dispositionis 
arbitrium." 



THE SITUATION IN THE YEAR 395 ^g r/ 

April 1 validates acts of a private nature passed during 
the time of the late tyrants. One of the twenty-sixth of 
the same month 2 also deals with private rights. One of 
the eighteenth of May 3 grants pardons to the rebels and 
restores the dignities previously held. Finally, 4 on the 
seventeenth of June all legal infamy was removed. The 
pagan party was still strong and Stilicho's actions won the 
support of its leaders, the chief of whom was Symmachus. 5 
The religious attitude of Rufinus compares unfavorably 
with the toleration of Stilicho. His religious faith and 
zeal won for him the friendship of Ambrose. 6 At his 
death he was buried in the Church of the Apostles Peter 

1 Ibid., xv, 14, 9. " Valeat omnis emancipatio tyrannicis facta tem- 
poribus ; valeat a dominis concessa libertas ; valeat celebrata et actis 
quibus libet inserta donatio ;" etc. 

2 Ibid., xv, 14, 10. " Qui tyranni Maximi secuti . . . eorurn amissione 
plectantur adque ad rem privatam denuo revertantur." 

5 Ibid., xv, 14, 11. " Fas est sequi nos paternae dispositionis arbitrium 
adque ideo universos cuiuslibet ordinis viros, de quibus lex nostra 
reticuerat, ad veniam volumus pertinere et beneficia inopinantibus 
ultro deferimus, sancientes hac lege, ne is, qui tyranni tempore mili- 
tavit vel etiam qualibet administratione donatus est aut honoraria 
dignitate perfunctus vel quicumque in aliquo honore diversis locis aut 
exactionibus praefuerant, notam infamiae sustineant, aut deformi vo- 
cabulo polluantur. Quibus eas tantum dignitates valere decernimus, 
quas ante tyrannicum tempus habuerunt." 

4 Ibid., xv, 14, 12. " His, quos tyrannici temporis labes specie 
dignitatis infecerat, inustae maculae omnem abolemus infamiam. 
Cunctis igitur statum priorem sine cuiusquam loci aut ordinis excep- 
tione tribuimus, ut utantur omnes jure communi, teneant statum veteris 
dignitatis, ita ut nihil sibi ex his quos adepti fuerant honoribus blandi- 
antur." 

5 Symmachus, Ep., viii, 7. Fifteen of the letters which Symmachus 
wrote to Stilicho are preserved. The one cited is of the year 399 
writing in response to the appointment of son Flavian as prefect of 
Rome. Flavian had been one of the leading men in the revolt men- 
tioned. His family was noted for its adherence to paganism. 

4 Ambrose. Ep.. 52. 



5<d POLITICS AND RELIGION 

and Paul, which he as praetorian prefect had built, three 
miles from Chalcedon, in a suburb called the Oak. Tille- 
mont has shown x that he had been baptized into the ortho- 
dox faith at the dedication of this church in 394. That he 
was a friend of Symmachus 2 does not argue against his 
orthodoxy, for, as Tillemont well says, Symmachus was the 
friend of everybody; 3 nor does the fact that the later 
church historians condemn him. 4 The best evidence that 
we could possibly have as to his constant support of the 
orthodox church is found in his numerous partisan edicts, 
all of which seem to indicate a bid for the support of the 
orthodox. But it is doubtful whether his narrow intol- 
erant acts accomplished anything but the alienation of 
pagans and heretics. That of the thirteenth of March 5 re- 
garding heretics, especially Eunomians, is very severe, for- 

1 Tillemont, Memoires pour servir a Vhistoire ecclesiastique (Paris, 
1713), ix, 593. 

2 Symmachus, Epp., iii, 81-91. 

3 Tillemont, Histoire des Empereurs, v, 422. 
* Soz., op. cit., viii, 1. 

5 Cod. Theod., xvi, 5, 25. De Haereticis. Impp. Arcad(ius) et 
Honor(ius) AA. Rufino P(raefecto) P(raetori)o: " Omnes poenas, 
cuncta supplicia, quae sanctionibus divae recordationis genitoris nostri 
adversum haereticorum sunt pertinacem spiritum constituta, nostro 
etiam decreto reparantes decernimus, quidquid etiam his est contra 
meritum delinquentum spe correctionis speciali quadam sanctione 
concessum, id irritum esse. Eunomianorum vero perfidam mentem et 
nequissimam sectam speciali commemoratione damnamus statuimusque 
omnia, quae contra illorum vesaniam decreta sunt, inlibata custodiri, 
illud addentes, ne quis memoratae sectae militandi aut testandi vel ex 
testamento sumendi habeat facultatem, ut sit omnibus commune dam- 
num, quibus etiam communis est religionis furor, cessante videlicet, 
si quid a patre nostro quibusdam fuerat super testandi jure beneficio 
speciali concessum." The term " supplicium " originally means the 
death penalty, but in later Roman law the term used for that penalty is 
generally " summum supplicium." 



THE SITUATION IN THE YEAR 395 



51 



bidding them the right of serving in the army, acting as 
witness or inheriting. It reads : 

Reviving all the penalties, all the punishments, which were 
established by the sanctions of our parent of divine memory 
against the pertinacious spirit of the heretics, we declare by 
this our decree that any concession granted by any special 
sanction whatever, contrary to the deserts of the offenders, in 
the hope of reformation, is invalid. We especially condemn the 
perfidious spirit and most nefarious doctrine of the Eunomians, 
and command that all that has been decreed against their folly 
be strictly observed ; adding this, that no one of the aforesaid 
sect shall have the right of participating in the imperial service 
or of making or taking testament, so that the same losses shall 
be shared by all who share this religious folly. We hereby 
revoke any privileges that may have been conceded by our 
father to anyone, respecting the right of testation. 

A few days later he prohibited all their assemblies, and 
forbade their assumption of ecclesiastical offices or titles 
by the law of the thirtieth of March, 1 which reads : " Let 
none of the heretics, whom already innumerable laws of 
our divine father restrain, dare hold their illicit meetings 
and with profane spirit, either publicly or privately, openly 
or in secret, contaminate the mystery of almighty God. 
Let none with polluted spirits dare assume the name of 
bishop or usurp ecclesiastical rank and its most sacred 
titles." On the twenty-fourth of June, 2 however, he re- 

1 Cod. Theod., xvi, 5, 26. " Ne quis haereticorum, quos jam leges innu- 
merae divi genitoris nostri continent, audeat coetus inlicitos congregare 
profanaque mente omnipotentis dei contaminare mysterium, nee pub- 
lice nee privatim, nee in secreto nee palam. Nemo audeat episcopi sibi 
nomen adsciscere vel ecclesiasticum ordinem eorumque sanctissima 
nomina pollutis mentibus usurpare." 

2 Ibid., xvi, 5, 27. " Conficiendorum testamentorum dari Eunomianis 
praecipimus potestatem et concedi id, quod divi genitoris nostri data 
nuper praeceptio continebat." 



52 POLITICS AND RELIGION 

stores the testamentary right which had been conceded to 
them by Theodosius on the twentieth of June, 394, 1 but 
which had been taken away on the thirteenth of March, 
395. 2 From the fact that this is a law of toleration and 
that it is addressed to Caesarius, praetorian prefect, who 
only succeeded to that office on the death of Runnus, it 
is possible that the date is wrong, and that it was not 
issued before November 27th. 

A law of September 3rd gives our first legal definition of 
a heretic, declaring that the term shall include all those who 
even in a minor matter deviate from the opinion and 
path of the Catholic religion. 3 And the last law of 
Rufinus, 4 that of the twenty-fourth of November, was to 
make his position more secure by removing all heretics 
from the provincial palace service. This shows fear of the 
opposition which his attitude must have aroused. It reads : 

We command your sublimity [Marcellus, master of the offices] 
to investigate whether heretics have dared, with affront to our 
laws, to perform service either in the bureaus (scriniis) among 

1 Cod. Theod., xvi, 5, 23. 

2 Ibid., xvi, 5, 25. 

3 Ibid., xvi, 5, 28. " Aureliano Proc. Asiae, Haereticorum vocabulo 
continentur et latis adversus eos sanctionibus debent subcumbere, qui 
vel levi argumento judicio catholicae religionis et tramite detecti 
fuerint deviare." 

4 Ibid., xvi, 5, 29. " Sublimitatem tuam investigare praecipimus, an 
aliqui haereticorum vel in scriniis vel inter agentes in rebus vel inter 
palatinos cum legum nostrarum injuria audeant militare, quibus ex- 
emplo divi patris nostri omnis et a nobis negata est militandi facultas. 
Quoscumque autem deprehenderis culpae huius adfines, cum ipsis, qui- 
bus et in legum nostrarum et in religionum excidium coniventiam 
praestiterunt, non solum militia eximi, verum etiam extra moenia 
urbis huiusce jubebis arceri." Honorius does the same in 408 (ibid., 
xvi, S, 48). Military service has been interdicted to Eunomians in 389, 
law 17, and to Montanists and Priscillianists in 395, law 25. 



THE SITUATION IN THE YEAR 395 ^ 

the agentes in rebus, or among the palatini. To all of these by 
the example of our divine father and by ourself all right of 
service has been forbidden. Moreover, all those who are 
found privy to this crime, together with those who connive 
with them in the overthrow of our laws and of religions, shall 
not only be removed from service but shall also be kept outside 
the walls of the city. 

We must bear in mind that the Novatians were still con- 
sidered only as schismatics, that Origen was not yet a 
heretic, and that the Arians had a church at Constantinople 
for their worship. Restrict the latitude of these laws as 
much as the sources will permit, and w T e still have the in- 
tolerant spirit of Rufmus' administration towards heretics 
clearly established. 

The laws of Rufinus dealing with the pagans are of a 
similar severity and must have alienated the support of 
that party. A law of the seventh of August, 1 against both 

1 Cod. Theod., xvi, 10, 13. " Statuimus nullum ad fanum vel quod- 
libet templum habere quempiam licentiam accedendi vel abominanda 
sacrificia celebrandi quolibet loco vel tempore. Igitur universi, qui a 
catholicae religionis dogmate deviare contendunt, ea, quae nuper de- 
crevimus, properent custodire et quae olim constituta sunt vel de 
haerelicis vel de paganis, non audeant praeterire, s:ituri, quiquid divi 
genitoris nostri legibus est in ipsos vel supplicii vel dispendii consti- 
tutum, nunc acrius exsequendum. Sciant autem moderatores provinci- 
arum nostrarum et his apparitio obsecundans, primates etiam civita- 
tum, defensores nee non et curiales, procuratores possessionum nos- 
trarum, in quibus sine timore dispendii ccetus inlicitos haereticos 
inire conperimus, eo, quod fisco sociari non possunt, quippe ad eius 
dominium pertinentes, si quid adversus scita nostra temptatum non 
fuerit vindicatum adque in vestigio ipso punitum, omnibus se detri- 
mentis et suppliciis subjugandos, quae scitis sunt veteribus constituta. 
Speciatim vero hac lege in moderatores austeriora sancimus et de- 
cernimus ; namque his non custodies omni industria adque cautela non 
solum hanc multam quae in ipsos constituta est, exerceri verum etiam 
quae in eos praefinita est qui commissi videntur auctores, nee his 
tamen remissa, quibus ob contumaciam suam juste est inrogata. In- 
super capitali supplicio judicamus officia coercenda, quae statuta ne- 
glexerint." 



54 POLITICS AND RELIGION 

heretics and pagans, is directed especially against official 
connivance : 

We decree that no one shall have license to visit any shrine or 
temple whatsoever or to celebrate abominable sacrifices at any 
time or in any place whatsoever. Therefore, let all who 
attempt to deviate from the dogma of the Catholic religion 
hasten to observe the decrees which we have recently made, 
nor let anyone dare overlook what formerly was decreed regard- 
ing either heretics or pagans, knowing that any fine or punish- 
ment determined by the laws of our divine father against them 
is now to be more vigorously executed. Moreover, let the 
governors of our provinces and their subordinates, the leading 
citizens of the towns, the defensors and curials, and stewards 
of our domains, in which we have learnt that illicit assemblies 
of heretics are held without fear of fine on the ground that 
the property of the fiscus cannot be confiscated, let these know 
that they must suffer all the penalties and punishments which 
have been fixed by former decrees if they do not forthwith 
take cognizance of, and punish promptly anything attempted 
contrary to our ordinances. And especially with reference to 
the governors, by this law we order and decree more severe 
measures; for if they do not enforce these laws with all dili- 
gence and caution, they will be made to pay not only the fine 
provided for their own neglect but also that provided for those 
who are^shown to have committed the offense, the latter how- 
ever not being remitted as against those on whom it has justly 
been imposed because of their contumacy. In addition, we 
judge that the officials (officia) who neglect the statutes shall 
be subjected to capital punishment. 

The destruction of paganism was not altogether the work 
of the Roman administration. The disorders of the time, 
civil war, and especially barbarian plunderings, must have 
played a very large role in the displacing of the ancient 
cults and the scattering of temple treasures. But how in- 
exact can be the estimate of the effect of this lawless force 



THE SITUATION IN THE YEAR 395 



55 



upon the religious revolution is illustrated in the question 
of the influences of the ravages of Alaric and his Goths in 
Greece upon the fortunes of Greek paganism. Upon the 
basis of an obscure passage in Eunapius, which we give 
below, Cardinal Baronius 1 and other historians after him, 2 
have claimed that it was owing to these Goths that the 
mysteries of Eleusis and the temples and sanctuaries in 
general were destroyed throughout Greece. The case was 
not so clear to the pagan Zosimus, who relates the mar- 
velous protection of Athens from the Goths by the appear- 
ance of Athena and Achilles before its walls. 3 But while 
we need not follow such obvious mythology, and may 
accept the reference of Eunapius as indicating a destruc- 
tion of the temple at Eleusis, we can hardly draw from it 
the further conclusion that there was a general destruction 
of Greek temples and sanctuaries. 4 

The passage in Eunapius runs as follows: 

Awe forbids me to speak the name of the hierophant, since he 
gave to me ordination, but he came from the family of Eumol- 
pid. It was he who foresaw the destruction of all Greece 
and the overthrow of paganism (Greek worship). In the 
presence of the writer he often declared that after him, one 

1 Baronius, op. cit., 305. " Vides, lector, Dei Consilium tradentis 
Graecias Gothis, nimirum ut sacrorum cultores et cultum, tot legibus 
frustra coercitos, idem penitus abolerent." 

2 Cf. E. Chastel, Histoire de la destruction du paganisme dans VEm- 
pire de Orient (Paris, 1850). 

3 Zos., op. cit., v, 6. Philostorgius, op. cit., xii, 2, shows that Alaric 
took Athens. 

4 Giildenpenning, op. cit., p. 53, concludes that Greece did not recover 
for a hundred years, but Gregorovius, Hat Alarich die National- 
gotter Griechenlands zerstbrt? (Kleine Schriften, 1886), concludes 
that Eleusis was destroyed, but that it is a gross exaggeration to 
ascribe to the Goths the destruction of the temples and sanctuaries of 
Greece. 



5 6 POLITICS AND RELIGION 

would be hierophant who would not be able to mount the 
throne of the hierophants, because he would be consecrated to 
strange gods and would be sworn by solemn oaths not to pre- 
side at other mysteries, albeit, eventually he would preside 
there, though not at Athens. His prophetic insight went so 
far that he announced that, while he lived, he would see the 
temples destroyed and desecrated ; that he would be filled with 
scorn at the excesses of huntan pride; that the cult of the 
two goddesses would perish before him; that he would be 
stripped of saintly office and that he would have neither the 
right nor the long existence of a hierophant. And even so it 
transpired. . . . 

Then came the invasion of the barbarians, under the leader- 
ship of Alaric, who leaped over the pass of Thermopylae as 
easily as they would have traveled a race course or a plain 
open to the coursing of horses. Impious people clothed in black 
robes opened the narrow passes to Alaric. They accompanied 
the flood of invaders, and in opposition to the law broke 
the band which attached all to the authority of the hierophant. 1 

In this passage the expression " impious men clothed in 
black," probably means the monks. It was a term com- 
monly applied to them at that period. Synesius uses it 2 
w T here there can be no question but that he means the 
monks. We know that monks were often valuable forces 
in campaigns. Mascezel used them against the Donatists 
and pagans 3 in 399 in his African campaign in Egypt. 
Chrysostom sent them to destroy the temples ot Phoenicia. 4 
Rutulius Namatianus 5 shows how they were especially 
execrated by the pagans, and it is not surprising that they 

1 Eunapius, Vitae Sophistarum. Maximus. 

2 Synesius, Opera, M. P. G., 66. Ep., 63, to Hypatia. 
8 Orosius, op. cit., vii, 36. 

* Cf. infra, p. 74. 

6 Rut. Nam at, op. cit., i, 440. 



THE SITUATION IN THE YEAR 395 ^y 

worked for the destruction of paganism. The Arians, too, 
were zealous destroyers of pagan temples, as Claudian in- 
dicates when he describes the destruction of the worship 
of Cybele in Phrygia by the Arian Goths. 1 Religious zeal 
aided the invaders; in turn the Arian Goths assisted the 
monks. It is quite evident that they did a good deal of 
damage in Greece, and that they must have injured th^ 
wealthy temples. 

1 Claudian, In Eut., ii, 274-304. 



CHAPTER II 
Outcome of the Religious Conflict in the East 

We have seen how, upon the death of Theodosius, politi- 
cal and religious strife was renewed throughout the em- 
pire. Stilicho in the West and Rufinus in the East, as 
guardians of the youthful princes, found themselves con- 
fronted with pagans, Arians and Catholics, all clamoring 
for supremacy, all seeking the support of the newcomers, 
the Germans. But on account of its comparatively brief 
duration, we are enabled to treat the strife in the East 
separately from that in the West and to follow it speedily 
to a conclusion. 

Rufinus had hoped to ensure his despotic influence in the 
East by arranging for the marriage of his daughter to the 
Emperor Arcadius. This was frustrated by a certain court 
eunuch, Eutropius, who took advantage of Rufinus' tem- 
porary absence to marry the prince to Eudoxia, the daugh- 
ter of a barbarian general, Bauto. And shortly thereafter, 
Rufinus was murdered x and Eutropius succeeded to the 
supreme power in the East. 

Officially Eutropius was only chamberlain, praepositus 
sacri palatii cnhicularius , 2 but from Zosimus 3 we learn 
that he controlled the emperor Arcadius; and Philostor- 
gius 4 testifies that Caesar ius, the praetorian prefect, merely 
enforced his commands. 

1 Supra, p. 24. 

3 Marcellinus, Chron.; Cod. Theod., ix, 40, 17. 
• Zos., op. cit., v, 8, 14. 

4 Philistorgius, op. cit., xi, 4, 5. 

58 



RELIGIOUS CONFLICT IN THE EAST *g 

Eutropius was born in Armenia, from whence he was 
carried in his youth to Assyria and sold as a slave. 1 After 
having changed masters many times he arrived at Con- 
stantinople, where General Abundantius (consul, 393) 
procured for him a position as palace eunuch. This favor 
he later repaid by having Abundantius banished, 396. 2 He 
had risen to some degree of importance even under Theo- 
dosius, who had intrusted him with a mission to Alex- 
andria and Lycopolis 3 to consult John the Hermit regard- 
ing the approaching war with Eugenius. He first won 
favor with Arcadius by the arrangement of the marriage 
with Eudoxia. Whether or not, as Zosimus states, 4 he 
was accessory to Rufinus' murder, at any rate he at once 
drove Rufinus' wife and daughter from the sanctuary of 
the church 5 into exile and proceeded to appropriate their 
property. 6 As ruler his greed for money seems to have 
been even more insatiable than that of his predecessor. 
Chrysostom 7 tells of his great possessions. Gaudian de- 
scribes his consuming greed and swollen pride, as well as 
his traffic in offices. 8 Zosimus writes of his envy, avarice 
and pride, 9 and of his system of espionage instituted in 
order to discover the possessors of fortunes. 10 

Eutropius' religion was as his life, one of opportunism, 

1 Gaudian, In Eut., i, 47-61. 

2 Jerome, Ep., 60 ; Gaudian, In Eat., i, 169, 170. He also banished 
Timasius. Zos., v, 9; Eunapius, Frag., 70 and 71. 

3 Gaudian, In Eut., i, 312; Soz., op. cit., vi, 28; Aug., City of God, 
v. 26; Theod., op. cit., v, 24. 

* Zos., op. cit., v, 8. But the evidence is of slight value. 

5 Zos., op. cit., v. 8; Marcellin, Chron. 

6 Cod. Theod., ix, 42, 14. 

1 Chrysostom, Opera, M. P. G., 47-63; In Eut., i, 2. 

8 Gaudian, In Eut., i, 192-209. 

9 Zos., op. cit., v, 8, 10. 

10 Eunapius, op. cit., Frag., 67. 



60 POLITICS AND RELIGION 

There were at this time two leading parties in the East: 
the old Roman, or anti-German party, which Aurelian * 
headed, and the German party which followed Gainas, the 
Arian Goth. Eutropius might profit considerably from the 
mutual jealousies of these two parties, 2 but his strength to 
be at all permanent must rest on a more secure basis. Ac- 
cordingly he built up his party mainly around his pretended 
zeal for the orthodox religion. He was acute enough to 
see that the East was not suitable for an heretical or toler- 
ant leader. The orthodox party was powerful and was 
looking for some one to lead them to supremacy: accord- 
ingly Eutropius was orthodox. It was thus that he won 
and conserved his power. The orthodox party alone would 
not suffice for security, and accordingly the eunuch en- 
tered into an alliance with Aurelian and the Roman party. 
This coalition continued in power until the overthrow of 
Eutropius. Throughout this period, the edicts show Eu- 
tropius' zeal for orthodoxy in their treatment of heresy. 
His greatest service to the orthodox party was in bringing 
Chrysostom from Antioch to Constantinople. In all prob- 
ability the attachment of Eutropius to orthodoxy was 
based on purely political grounds; the real depths of it 
may perhaps be gauged by the fact that he neither hesi- 
tated to abolish the sanctuary of the church, 3 nor to enter 
into an alliance with the pagan-heretical party of North 
Africa. 4 Also it is to be noted that he took the Jews under 

1 Aurelian was praetorian prefect in 398 and 399 until October. He 
secured for Synesius an audience with Arcadius at which the oration, 
de Regno, was delivered. 

2 Synesius, de providentia, an allegory of the events at Constanti- 
nople from 399-402. Cf. Seeck. Philologus, Hi, 442. 

3 Chrys., In Eutropium eunuchum, I. I. ; Cod. Theod., iv, 45, 3 ; ix, 40. 
16 (398). 

4 Cf. infra, ch. iii. 



RELIGIOUS CONFLICT IN THE EAST 6 1 

his protection, 1 and it was the Jews whom Chrysostom 
considered the worst enemies of the church. The law of 
the twenty-seventh of February, 396, allows them to fix 
their own prices. 2 Another of the twenty-fourth of April 3 
protects them from insults. That of the seventeenth of 
June, 397, forbids 4 attacks on Jews or their synagogues. 
But by a law of the same date, 5 Jews are forbidden to evade 
crimes or debts by turning Christian. A law of the first of 
July of the same year grants them all the exemptions from 
curial duties enjoyed by the Christians. 6 

The following are Eutropius' laws against the heretics. 
The one of the third of March, 396, reads : 7 

1 In the West at this same period Stilicho was following a very dif- 
ference course with respect to the Hebrews. By the law of the thir- 
teenth of February {Cod. Theod., xii, 1, 157, 158), 398, the Jews were 
commanded, despite laws of the East, to bear their share of municipal 
taxes and services (munera). And in 399, a law of the eleventh of 
April (ibid., xvi, 8, 14), confiscated the revenues which the Jews were 
wont to send to their patriarch in the East. 

2 Ibid., xvi, 8. De Judaeis, Caelicolis et Samaritanis, const. 10: 
"Ad Judaeos : Nemo exterus reiigionis Judaeorum Judaeis pretia sta- 
tuet, cum venalia proponentur : justum est enim sua cuique commit- 
tere." 

3 Ibid., xvi, 8, 11. "Si quis audeat inlustrium patriarcharum con- 
tumeliosam per publicum facere mentionem, ultionis sententia sub- 
jugetur." 

* Ibid., xvi, 8, 12. "... oportere a Judaeis inruentum contumelias 
propulsari eorumque synagogas in quiete solita permanere." 

5 Ibid., ix, 45, 2. " Judaei, qui reatu aliquo vel debitis f atigati simul- 
ant se Christianae legi velle conjungi, ut ad ecclesias confugientes 
vitare possint crimina vel pondera debitorum, arceantur nee ante sus- 
cipiantur, quam debita universa reddiderint vel fuerint innocentia de- 
monstrata purgati." 

6 Ibid., xvi, 8, 13. " Sint igitur etiam a curialibus muneribus alieni 
pareantque legibus suis." 

7 Ibid., xvi, 5, 30. " Cuncti haeretici procul dubio noverint omnia 



62 POLITICS AND RELIGION 

Let all heretics take notice that all of their places in this 
city are to be taken away from them, whether they are held 
under the name of churches, or are called diaconica (poor 
house hospitals) or decanica (prisons for ecclesiastical disci- 
pline) : and if in any private homes or places opportunity ap- 
pears to be furnished for meetings of this kind, these buildings 
and places are to be confiscated. Moreover let all heretical 
clergymen be expelled from this most sacred city and not be 
allowed to assemble within its confines. Likewise, it is for- 
bidden to all of them to meet in this city to perform the litany, 
night or day; a fine of one hundred pounds of gold being de- 
creed against your Highness if anything of this kind is allowed 
either in public or in private. 

On the twenty-first or twenty-second of April of the 
same year 1 the Eunomians were again attacked : 

Lest the grave insanity of the Eunomians continue to exist, 
let your excellency hasten with all zeal to discover their 
authors and teachers and especially cause their clergy, whose 
madness advocates such error, to be exiled and forbidden 
human association. 

sibi loca hums urbis adimenda esse, sive sub ecclesiarum nomine 
teneantur sive quae diaconica appellantur vel etiam decanica, sive 
in privatis domibus vel locis huiusmodi coetibus copiam prae- 
bere videantur, his aedibus vel locis privatis fisco nostro adcorpor- 
andis. Praeterea omnes clerici haereticorum ex sacratissima urbe 
pellantur neque his finibus liceat convenire. Ad hoc interdicatur his 
omnibus ad litaniam faciendam intra civitatem noctu vel interdie 
profanis coire conventibus, statua videlicet condemnatione centum 
librarum auri contra officium sublimitatis tuae, si quid huiusmodi fieri 
vel in publico vel in privatis aedibus concedatur." 

1 Cod. Theod., xvi, 5, 31 and 32. The one contains the other. " Ne 
Eunomianorum tanta dementia perseveret, sublimis magnificentia tua 
omni studio auctores doctoresque Eunomianorum investigare festi- 
net clericique eorum maxime, quorum furor tantum suasit errorem, 
de civitatibus pellantur extorres et humanis coetibus segregentur." 



RELIGIOUS CONFLICT IN THE EAST 63 

A law of the first of April, 397, against the followers of 
Apollinarius, 1 reads: 

We command the Apollinarist teachers with all speed to 
depart from the temples of our beloved city. And if, con- 
cealed in secret places, they disdain to depart, holding as they 
fancy secret assemblages, let these places or homes where 
they assemble be confiscated. 

Again, on the fourth of March, 398, there is a law against 
the Eunomians which also include the Montanists: 2 

Let the clerics adhering to the Eunomian and Montanist 

1 Cod, Theod., xvi, 5, 33. " Doctores Apollinariorum tota maturitate 
praecipimus ex aedibus carae nobis abscedere civitatis, ita ut, si ob- 
umbrati latebris abire neglexerint, occultos coetus, ut aestimant, habi- 
turi, ea loca vel domus, quibus praedictos congregaverint, fisci rationi 
nectantur." Apollinarius of Laodicea (fl. 382 A. D.), was a strong 
opponent of both the orthodox and the Arian. His faith was founded 
on the idea of the union of the body, soul and spirit and added an- 
other to the numerous Eastern heresies. 

2 Ibid., xvi, 5, 34. " Eunomianae superstitionis clerici seu Mon- 
tanistae consortio vel conversatione civitatum universarum adque 
urbium expellantur. Qui si forte in rure degentes aut populum con- 
gregare aut aliquos probabuntur inire conventus, perpetuo deporten- 
tur, procuratore possessionis ultima animadversione punito, domino 
possessione privando, in qua his consciis ac tacentibus infausti dam- 
natique conventus probabuntur agitati. Si vero in qualibet post pub- 
licatam sollemniter jussionem urbe deprehensi aut aliquam celebrandae 
superstitionis gratia ingressi domum probabuntur, et ipsi ademptis 
bonis ultima animadversione plectantur et domus in qua ea sorte, 
qua dictum est, ingressi nee statim a domino dominave domus expulsi 
ac proditi fuerint, fisco sine dilatione societur. Codices sane eorum 
scelerum omnium doctrinam ac materiam continentes summa sagaci- 
tate mox quaeri ac prodi exerta auctoritate mandamus sub aspectibus 
judicantum incendio mox cremandos. Ex quibus si qui forte aliquid 
qualibet occasione vel fraude occultasse nee prodidisse convincitur, 
sciat se velut noxiorum codicum et maleficii crimine conscribtorum 
retentatorem capite esse plectendum." Momtanism was that early- 
ecstatic and visionary sort of religion, which numbered among its con- 
verts Tertullian. 



64 POLITICS AND RELIGION 

superstitions be excluded from residence in or visits to any city 
or town. Should by chance any of these heretics sojourning 
in the country be found attempting to gather or hold an as- 
sembly, let them be sent into perpetual exile, and let the over- 
seers of the property suffer with capital punishment, and let 
the owners be deprived of the property, if it be proved that 
these vile and forbidden assemblies were held with their knowl- 
edge and acquiescence. Furthermore, if after this order has 
been formally published in any city they shall have been ap- 
prehended in it or be proven to have entered any home for 
the sake of celebrating their superstition, let them receive cap- 
ital punishment, with forfeiture of goods, and let that house 
be confiscated without delay which they entered in the manner 
aforesaid, and from which they were not immediately ex- 
pelled and reported by the master or mistress. Besides, we 
command, in the exercise of our authority, that their books 
which contain the substances of their guilty teachings be sought 
out with the utmost care and produced to be burnt before the 
eyes of the magistrates. And if anyone shall have been con- 
victed of having concealed or of not having produced them, let 
him know that for having them in his possession he is to re- 
ceive capital punishment, as being guilty of having dangerous 
books and writings of sorcery. 

The mildness of the few contemporary laws dealing 
with the pagan party is probably due to the alliance be- 
tween the Roman party and Eutropius. A law of the 
twenty-third of March, 396, 1 deals with apostasy: 

Let this punishment fall upon those who having been Chris- 
tians, stain themselves with the impious superstition of idol- 
atry; to wit, that they shall not have the right of testating in 
favor of persons not of kin, but that their succession shall 

1 Cod. Theod., xvi, 7, 6. " Eos, qui, cum essent Christiani, idolorum 
se superstitione impia maculaverint, haec poena persequitur, ut tes- 
tandi in alienos non habeant f acultatem sed certa his generis sui propago 
succedat, id est pater ac mater, frater ac soror, filius ac filia, nepos ac 
neptis, nee ulterius sibi progrediendi quisquam vindicet potestatem." 



RELIGIOUS CONFLICT IN THE EAST 65 

devolve upon their immediate relations, i. e. father and mother, 
brother and sister, son and daughter, grandson and grand- 
daughter, nor shall any person claim power to go beyond this 
order. 

The pagan holiday of the Maiuma was restored by a 
law of the twenty-fifth of April, 396, 1 but another law of 
the seventh of December shows that the pagans were not 
to enjoy any special privileges: 2 

If any privileges have been conceded by ancient law to the 
priests, ministers, prefects, hierophants or to any like person, 
by whatever name designated, let them be completely abol- 
ished. Let such persons not congratulate themselves that 
while their profession is known to be condemned by law they 
themselves are fortified by privilege. 

Naturally with the waning of paganism the disused tem- 
ples fell into decay and it became a question of what to do 
with the ruins. A law of the first of November, 397, af- 
fords a partial answer: 

Since you have signified that roads and bridges over which 
there is much travel, and aqueducts, and, indeed, the walls of 
the cities, ought to be improved, if the costs could be provided, 
we decree that all the material, which is reported to have 
been provided by the demolition of the temples, be set apart 
for the above-mentioned necessities, by which all may be 
brought into good repair. 3 

1 Cod. Theod., xv, 6, 1. " Clementiae nostrae placuit, ut Maiumae 
provincialibus laetitia redderetur, ita tarn en, ut servetur honestas et 
verecundia castis moribus perseveret." 

2 Ibid., xvi, 10, 14. " Privilegia si qua concessa sunt antiquo 
jure sacerdotibus ministris praefectis hierofantis sacrorum sive quo- 
libet alio nomine nuncupantur, penitus aboleantur nee gratulentur se 
privilegio esse munitos, quorum professio per legem cognoscitur esse 
damnata." 

3 Ibid., xv, 1, 36. " Quoniam vias pontes, per quos itinera cele- 



66 POLITICS AND RELIGION 

Mention has already been made of Eutropius' greatest 
service to orthodoxy in bringing Chrysostom to Constan- 
tinople. Apparently Chrysostom was selected by Eutro- 
pius as being one suited on account of his oratorical ability 
to control the populace of the capital and thus to strengthen 
the orthodox party, upon whose support his own power in 
large part depended. As Archbishop of Constantinople, 
Chrysostom exceeded his patron's expectations. Not long 
was he to serve as a foil to Eutropius; he was to become 
himself the leader of the East, its political as well as re- 
ligious guide. Therefore, it will be well to note his atti- 
tude toward the other parties of the time. The immoral- 
ities of Eastern civilization occupied his chief thought. 
He was above all a moralist, and as such was rather an 
orator and expounder than a controversalist. Toward 
persons and sects he was on the whole tolerant. In fact 
toleration shown to the Origenistic sect was the weapon 
used by his enemies to accomplish his ultimate overthrow. 
As priest at Antioch during the period in which most of 
his writings were produced, Chrysostom had been engaged 
in the contests with pagans, Eunomians and Jews. In the 
contemporary Hellenes, or pagans, he saw many virtues, 
and his attitude to them is one of almost perfect toleration. 
It was only their morals that he attacked and therein they 
were often better than Christians. They despised the 
money for which the Christians were so eager ; x their 
word was often better than that of a Christian. However, 
as a rule, they lived abominable lives and would not be 

brantur, adque aquaeductus, muros quin etiam juvari provisis sump- 
tibus oportere signasti, cunctam materiam, quae ordinata dicitur 
ex demolitione templorum, memoratis necessitatibus deputari cen- 
semus, quo ad perfectionem cuncta perveniant." 

^Chrysostom, Opera, M. P. G. (Paris, 1858-1860), vols. 47-64, In 
Evangelium Joannis sermones, 84, 3 ; 51. 



RELIGIOUS CONFLICT IN THE EAST fry 

converted from their drunkenness and fornication. His 
De St. Babyla contra Gentiles was written to combat their 
follies. He argued against their belief in auguries and 
prophecies ; 1 observances of lucky and unlucky days ; the 
use of amulets and magic practices. He would replace 
these amulets by the true cross, and their magic formulas 
by prayer. Statues were but images of fornication. And 
yet, the thing least permitted to the Christian was to cor- 
rect by violence the fault of sinners. They had no other 
recourse than persuasion, never constraint. The laws did 
not give the power to constrain sinners and even if they 
did it could not be used, for the Saviour has a crown only 
for those who abstain from evil by free will alone. While 
he would avoid pagans it was not necessary to anathema- 
tize either the living or the dead ; 2 " anathematize dogmas 
but spare individuals. Nothing is so sweet as vengeance 
against an enemy, but vengeance should be to turn the 
other cheek." 3 These were the ideas of the Bishop of 
Antioch. As Bishop of Constantinople, in actual conflict 
with pagan parties, we shall see that he assisted in the de- 
struction of the pagan temples of Phoenicia . 4 In fact, he 
seems to have made the conversion of that province one of 
his chief ambitions. We shall also find him assisting 
Porphyry to secure the destruction of the pagan temples 
in Gaza. 

It was not in pagan temples or pagan manners but in 
pagan literature that Chrysostom saw the real enemy of 

1 Chrys., In Epistolam I ad Corinthios, 4, 11, 29; In Psalmum, cxiii, 4. 

2 Chry., Adversus Judaeos, viii, 4; De Lazaro Concio, i, 5. Horn. 
25 on 2nd Ep. to Cor., 3. De non Anathematizandis vivis vel de- 
funct is. 

3 Chrys., Horn. 22 on Ep. to Rom. 
*Cf. infra, p. 74. 



68 POLITICS AND RELIGION 

the orthodox faith. He says little of the schools of gram- 
marians except to complain of their severe discipline. He 
hated rhetoricians, as the enemies of Christianity. They 
had no real usefulness; they sought only vain admiration. 
He was always complaining that classical education was 
opposed to the ideas of the church. 1 He despised Plato 
for his commonage of wives. 2 The writings of the Greeks 
with their pretended science only augmented the danger- 
ous ignorance of youth and plunged it into t heavier doubts. 
They served to make the children admire pretended heroes 
who were in reality merely the slaves of their passion and 
vices. He would teach not Grecian fables but the fear of 
God, that is morality. 3 This was to be learned first at 
home, later in the monastery. 

His attitude toward the heretics was much the same * 
as his attitude toward pagans. He denied their virtues and 
refuted their doctrines. It was right to repress them, to close 
their mouths, to deprive them of freedom of speech and to 
forbid their reunions. Only they must not be put to death. 
That it was Chrysostom who obtained the law of the 
fourth of March, 398, 5 which sentenced heretics to capital 
punishment, seems doubtful, inasmuch as it was issued 
only three days after his ordination and contradicted his 
generaL attitude towards heresy. However, he did work 
earnestly against the heterodox. He offset the nightly 
processions of the Arians at Constantinople with displays 

1 Chry., In Joan., 3; Contra Judaeos et Gentiles, 13; De Lazaro 
Concio, iii, 3. 

2 Chry., Act. A p., 4, 3-4. 

3 Chry., Ep. to Thes., ii, 2, 4. 

4 Chry., ibid. De non anathematizandis vivis vel defunctis, 4; De 
incomprehensibili del Natura, ii, 7 ; in Matt., 46, 2 ; In Joannen Homil., 
xli, 4; In Tim., 7, 2. 

5 Cod. Theod., xvi, 5, 34. Cf. supra, p. 63. 






RELIGIOUS CONFLICT IN THE EAST 69 

of his own. 1 And Gainas' attempt to gain for these Arians 
a church in that city he successfully thwarted. 2 He con- 
verted Scythia from Arianism by giving that province or- 
thodox ministers who spoke their own tongue, 3 and he 
purged Syria of the heresy of Marcian by means of imper- 
ial edicts. 4 On his journey into Asia he restored to the 
orthodox many churches of the heretics. Yet even though 
Socrates may tell us that he took away many churches 
from the Novatians and Quartodecimans, 5 we know that 
he still allowed Sisinnius, their bishop, to preach at Con- 
stantinople. 6 

It was against the Jews and their proselyting that John 
Chrysostom exhibited his philippic abilities. He delivered 
a series of eight discourses against them at Antioch in 
386, a prototype of those sweeping and unfounded accu- 
sations so commonly reported throughout the whole middle 
age. It was necessary for each Christian to prevent his 
brother from consorting with the Jews, even if it became 
necessary to constrain him. 7 Their feasts, accompanied 
by their ridiculous dances, were worse than revelries ; their 
tumultuous fetes were impure and altogether abominable; 
their synagogue was a place of debauchery, a cave of 
robbers and of wild beasts, the abode of demons; they 
conducted thither troops of loose women, of infamous men, 
than which the theatre had nothing more vile. No Jew 

1 Soc, op. cit., vi, 8 ; Soz., po. cit., viii, 8. 

2 Soz., op. cit., viii, 4, 8 ; Soc, op. cit., vi, 8 ; Theod., op. cit., v, 32. 

3 Theod., op. cit., v, 30-3 1. 
* Theod., op. cit., v, 31. 

5 Soc, op. cit., vi, 19. 

6 Soc, op. cit., vi, 22. 

' Chry., 1st Horn, against the lews; Horn, on the Ep. of Paul, x, 1. 



yo 



POLITICS AND RELIGION 



adored God. They did not know the Father ; they had cru- 
cified the Son; they repulsed the Holy Spirit. They were 
rich, intriguing, quarrelsome, and superstitious. They 
trafficked on the public credulity by means of amulets and 
enchantments for curing evil ; pawnbrokers, vile merchants, 
men without consciences, enemies of God, what crimes had 
they not committed ? They had put to death their prophets, 
sacrificed to demons their sons and daughters, trampled 
under foot all the laws of nature. One does not know how 
much impiety and cruelty prevails among them. ... The 
prophet says that every one of them had followed his neigh- 
bor's wife with a furious passion. Addicted to their 
bellies, greedy for present fortune, they were gormandizers 
and lascivious to such a degree that they were in no 
way superior to beasts. They knew but one thing, to be 
slaves to their gluttony, to become intoxicated, to vie for 
dances. If one would recount their robberies, their avar- 
ice, their treasons, their miserable practices, one day would 
not suffice. And it is with such a class that Christians 
would pray and feast. 1 

Chrysostom, who had been elected archbishop of Con- 
stantinople, hurried there under military escort to avoid 
trouble with his congregation at Antioch. He was conse- 
crated in February, 398, just in time to play an active part 
in an interesting political situation. 

Eutropius' supremacy in Eastern affairs did not improve 
the relations between East and West. He was fearful of 
the power and claims of Stilicho, 2 and consequently eagerly 
grasped an opportunity offered him by Count Gildo in 397 

1 Ghry., 1st Horn, against the Jews, 6, 7. 

2 We might infer this from a severe law passed September 4, 397, 
against treason, Cod. Theod., ix, 14, 3, which indicates that Eutropius 
was in mortal fear of someone. 



RELIGIOUS CONFLICT IN THE EAST 



71 



to weaken his rival in Italy and strengthen his own power 
by the acquisition of Rome's source of supplies, the prov- 
ince of Africa. The history of the revolt belongs to the 
story of Africa and the fortunes of African heresy and 
paganism, 1 but it had far-reaching effects in the East as 
well. It was in the midst of this revolt that Chrysostom 
was secured by Eutropius, perhaps to offset any evil ef- 
fects that might ensue from the alliance with African 
paganism and heresy. The permanent settlement of both 
the political and religious situations for the East followed 
almost immediately upon the failure of this revolt and the 
dissolution of the alliance with the African rebel. 

Following closely upon the failure of his African plans, 
Eutropius found himself face to face with a revolt in the 
East, which had been plotted against his tyrannical gov- 
ernment by the leaders of the Arian-Gothic party. The 
leaders of the revolt were Gainas and his relative Tribi- 
gild. 2 Though we might look for Stilicho to aid Gainas 
on account of past associations, there is no evidence that 
he did so. Tribigild, with the troops of Phrygia which 
were under his command, commenced to plunder that dis- 
trict. The inability of the eunuch or his generals to bribe 
or conquer the rebels led to the fall of Eutropius. 3 Seeing 
his end approaching, he fled to Chrysostom, 4 despite the 
fact that he had probably offended his one-time patron by 

1 Cf. infra, ch. iii. 

' Zos., op. cit., v. 13 et seq.; Soc, op. cit., vi, 6; Soz., op. cit., viii, 4; 
Claudian ignores Gainas. Claudian, In Eut., ii. 

3 Zos., op. cit.. v, 17; Philostorgius, op. cit., xi, 6, attributes Eutro- 
pius' fall to the righteous wrath of Eudoxia. Neither Claudian nor 
Chrysostom assign any cause for the fall. 

4 Chry., Horn, in Eut.; Soc., op. cit., vi, 5; Soz., op. cit., viii, 7; Zos., 
op. cit., v, 18. 



72 



POLITICS AND RELIGION 



having abolished the right of asylum. 1 Chrysostom pro- 
tected him but took the occasion to deliver homilies against 
him. Promised his life, Eutropius was banished to Cyprus 
only to be recalled, tried and slain at Chalcedon. 2 The 
code preserves evidence of this fall 3 in an edict confiscat- 
ing all his property, decreeing all of his acts void and 
ordering the destruction of all his statues and paintings in 
order that the memory of his rule might be blotted out. 
His fall was a blow for the Roman, anti-Germanic party, 
i. e., the orthodox. It was followed by Gainas demanding 
an interview with the emperor at Chalcedon, 4 where an 
agreement was affected by which Gainas was to continue 
as master of the militia in the East and Tribigild and the 
Goths were to be transported into Europe. Gainas also 
compelled the surrender of the leaders of the Roman party 
— Aurelian, Saturninus and John. 5 

In this unsettled state Chrysostom by means of his in- 
fluence with the people of Constantinople seems to have 
become more and more dominant. He stood in the way of 
Gainas' restoring the Arians to full rights, 6 and his ser- 
vices were so necessary that the emperor could not spare 
him from the city long enough to permit his taking a trip 
through the Asiatic provinces where the churches were in 
need of supervision. Chrysostom's general tolerant policy 
permitted him to work more or less in harmony with the 
anti-Roman party. An early edict of the party newly in- 

1 Cod. Theod., ix, 45, 3; Soz., op. cit., viii, 7; Zos., op. cit., v, 13; 
Soc, op. cit., vi, 5 ; Claudian, In Eut. 

2 Zos., op. cit., v. 18, in the summer of 399. 

8 Cod. Theod., ix, 40, 17; Zos., op. cit., v, 18; Phil., op. cit., xi, 6. 

4 Zos., op. cit., v, 18. 

5 Zos., op. cit., v, 18. 

6 Soc, op. cit., vi, 6; Soz., op. cit., viii, 8. 



RELIGIOUS CONFLICT IN THE EAST 73 

vested with power restored on the sixth of July, 399, cer- 
tain rights to the Eunomians. 1 

We remit to the Eunomians the punishment which takes away 
the right of making wills and of changing the status of sub- 
jects [to that of citizens]. We grant them the free right of 
disposing of their goods as they wish and of receiving gifts 
from others. Let them abstain from assemblages and all illicit 
gatherings, and let them know that meetings are forbidden 
them or punishments will follow ; for the manager of an estate 
or the stewards of an urban home in which profane mysteries 
shall have been celebrated shall suffer capital punishment and 
the possessions and home shall be confiscated, if the owner 
knew and failed to forbid the transgression of our command. 
Moreover let the ministers of this criminal sect who falsely 
call themselves bishops who shall have been discovered in any 
gathering be deported and all of their goods be confiscated. 

The new coalition was anti-pagan. It proceeded by a 
law of the second of October, 397, to forbid the pagan 
celebration of the Maiuma which had been permitted in 
396 : " We permit the sports to be held, lest excessive re- 
striction cause gloom. We forbid, however, that foul 
and indecent spectacle Maiuma, which is merely another 
name for insolent license." 2 

1 Cod. Theod., xvi, 5, 36. " Eunomianis poenam adimendae testa- 
menti factionis peregrinorumque mutandae condicionis remittimus. 
Patimur eos et donandi e suis facultatibus, ut velint, et dono rursus 
ab aliis accipiendi habere liberam potestatem. Conciliis vero abstine- 
ant, ccetus inlicitos derelinquant et sciant sibi interdictas esse collec- 
tiones aut poenas paratas, ita ut fundi procurator vel domus urbanae 
villicus, in quibus profana mysteria fuerint celebrata, ultimo supplicio 
feriantur ipsaque possessio et domus fisco vindicetur, si sciente dom- 
ino et non prohibente nostrae jussioni fuerit obnisum. Praeterea 
ministri sceleris, quos falso nomine suo antistites vocant, si in collec- 
tione aliqua fuerint comprehensi, deportentur omnibus bonis ablatis." 
2 Ibid., xv, 6, 2. " Ludicras artes concedimus agitari ne ex nimia 



74 POLITICS AND RELIGION 

There was also a renewed attack on pagan temples. A 
law of the tenth of July, 399, provides for the destruction 
of rural shrines : " If there be any temples in the fields let 
them be destroyed but without collecting crowds or raising- 
disturbance. All sources of superstition will be removed by 
their suppression." 1 Whether or not Chrysostom was per- 
sonally responsible for the passage of this law we cannot 
say, but we do know that he took advantage of it to organize 
bands of monks for the destruction of the pagan temples of 
Phoenicia. Funds for this work were donated by certain of 
his pious female friends. 2 And when Porphyry of Gaza 
wanted to secure the destruction of the pagan temples of 
his province he received assistance from Chrysostom. The 
story of what befell Porphyry at Constantinople has been 
told by Mark the Deacon, one of his companions. As an 
exposition of the inner workings of politics and religion at 
the court of Arcadius it is worth quoting. 

The bishops set sail from Caesarea and reached Rhodes in 
ten days, where they visited a holy hermit named Procopius, 
who was gifted with second sight, and told them all that 
would befall them when they should arrive at Byzantium. 
The voyage to Byzantium occupied likewise ten days. Hav- 
ing secured lodgings, they visited the patriarch, John Chry- 
sostom, on the morrow of their arrival. "And he received us 
with great honor and courtesy, and asked us why we under- 
took the fatigue of the journey, and we told him; and when 

harum restrictione tristitia generetur. Illud vero quod sibi nomen 
procax licentia vindicavit, Maiuma, foedum adque indecorum spec- 
taculum, denegamus." 

1 Cod. Theod., xvi, 10, 16. " Si qua in agris templa sunt, sine turba 
ac tumultu diruantur. His enim dejectis atque sublatis omnis super- 
stitioni materia consumetur." 

2 Theod., op. cit., v, 29; Chry., Ep., 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, etc. Even 
after his exile Chrysostom continued to write letters urging the com- 
pletion of this work. 



RELIGIOUS CONFLICT IN THE EAST 



75 



he learned the reason he recollected that on a former occasion 
we made this petition by letter, and recognizing me (Marcus) 
greeted me kindly. And he bade us not to despond, but to 
have hope in the mercies of God," and said, " I cannot speak 
to the Emperor, for the Empress excited his indignation 
against me because I charged her with robbery and theft. 
And I am not concerned about his anger for it is themselves 
they hurt and not me, and even if they hurt my body, they do 
the more good to my soul. . . . To-morrow I shall send for 
the eunuch Amantius, the chamberlain of the Empress, who 
has great influence with her and is really a servant of God, 
and I shall commit the matter to him, and if God consents all 
will go well." Having received these injunctions and a 
recommendation to God, we proceeded to our inn. And on 
the next day we went to the bishop and found in his house 
the chamberlain Amantius, for the bishop had attended to our 
affair and had sent for him and explained it to him. And 
when we came in Amantius was told we were the persons of 
whom he had heard, he stood up and did obeisance to the 
most holy bishops, inclining his face to the ground, and they, 
when they were told who he was, embraced him and kissed 
him. And the most holy Archbishop John bade them explain 
orally their affairs to the chamberlain. And the most holy 
Porphyrius explained to him all the affairs of the idolaters. 
how licentiously they performed the unlawful rites and op- 
pressed the Christians. And Amantius, when he had heard 
this wept, and was filled with zeal for God, and said to them, 
" Be not despondent, fathers, for Christ can shield this re- 
ligion. Do you therefore pray and I will speak to the 
Empress. And I trust in the God of the Universe that He 
will show mercy according to His Wont." With these in- 
junctions he departed ; and having conversed on many spir- 
itual topics with the archbishop John, and received his bless- 
ing, we withdrew. 

The next day, the chamberlain, Amantius, sent two deacons 
to bid us come to the Palace and we rose and proceeded with 
all expedition. And we found him awaiting us, and he took 



76 POLITICS AND RELIGION 

the two bishops and introduced them to the Empress Eudoxia. 
And when she saw them she saluted them first and said, 
" Give me your blessing fathers." And they did obeisance 
to her. Now she was sitting on a golden sofa. And she said 
to them, " Excuse me, priests of Christ, on account of my 
situation, for I was anxious to meet your sanctity in the 
antechamber. But pray God on my behalf that I may be de- 
livered happily of the child which is in my womb." And the 
bishops, wondering at her condescension, said, " May He who 
blessed the womb of Sarah and Rebecca and Elizabeth, bless 
and quicken the child in thine." After further edifying con- 
versation, she said to them, " I know why you came, as the 
chamberlain Amantius explained it to me. But if you fain 
would instruct . me, fathers, I am at your service." Thus 
bidden, they told her all about the idolaters, and the impious 
rites which they fearlessly practiced, and their oppression of 
the Christians, whom they did not allow to perform a public 
duty nor to till their lands, " from whose produce they pay 
the dues to your imperial majesty." And the empress said, 
" Do not despond ; for I trust in the Lord Christ, the Son of 
God, that I shall persuade the king to do these things that 
are due to your saintly faith and to dismiss you hence well 
favored. Depart, then, to your privacy, for you are fatigued 
and pray God to grant my request." She then commanded 
money to be brought and gave three darics apiece to each of 
the most holy bishops, saying, " In the meantime take this for 
your expenses." And the Bishops took the money and blessed 
her abundantly and departed. And when they went out they 
gave the greater part of the money to the deacons who were 
standing at the door, reserving little for themselves. 

And when the Emperor came into the apartment of the 
Empress, she told him all touching the bishops, and requested 
him that the heathen temples of Gaza should be torn down. 
But the Emperor was put out when he heard it and said, " I 
know that city is devoted to idols, but it is loyally disposed in 
the matter of taxation and pays large sums to the revenue. 
If then we overwhelm the pagans with sudden terror, they 



RELIGIOUS CONFLICT IN THE EAST yy 

will betake themselves to flight and we shall lose much of the 
revenue. But if it must be, let us afflict them partially, depriv- 
ing idolaters of their dignities and other public offices, and bid 
their temples be shut up and be used no longer. For when 
they are afflicted and straitened on all sides they will recog- 
nize the truth but an extreme measure coming suddenly is 
hard on subjects." The Empress was very much vexed at 
this reply, for she was ardent in matters of faith, but she 
merely said, " The Lord can assist his servants, the Christians, 
whether we consent or decline." 

We learned these details from the chamberlain Amantius. 
On the morrow the Empress sent for us, and having first 
saluted the holy bishops according to her custom, she bade 
them sit down. And after a long spiritual talk, she said, 
" I spoke to the Emperor and he was rather put out. But do 
not despond, for, God willing, I cannot cease until ye be 
satisfied in your holy purpose." And the bishops made obei- 
sance. Then the sainted Porphyrius, pricked by the spirit, 
and recollecting the word of the thrice blessed anchorite, Pro- 
copius, said to the Empress, " Exert yourself for the sake of 
Christ, and in recompense for your exertions He will bestow 
on you a son whose life and reign you will see and enjoy 
many years." At these words the Empress was filled with 
joy and her face flushed, and new beauty beyond that which 
she already had, passed into her face ; for the face shows 
what passes within. And she said, " Pray, fathers, that ac- 
cording to your word, with the will of God, I may bear a male 
child, and if it so befall, I promise you to do all that you ask. 
And another thing, for which ye ask not, I intend to do with 
the consent of Christ; I will found a church at Gaza in the 
center of the city. Depart then in peace and rest quietly, 
praying constantly for my happy delivery ; for the time of my 
confinement is near." The bishops commended her to God 
and left the Palace. And prayer was made that she should 
bear a male child; for we believed in the words of Saint 
Procopius. And every day we used to proceed to the most 
holy John, the archbishop, and had the fruition of his 



78 POLITICS AND RELIGION 

holy words, sweeter than honey and the honey comb. And 
Amantius, the chamberlain, used to come to us, sometimes 
bearing messages from the Empress, at other times merely 
to pay a visit. And after a few days, the Empress brought 
forth a male child, and he was called Theodosius after his 
grandfather Theodosius, the Spaniard, who reigned along 
with Gratian. And the child Theodosius was born in the 
purple wherefore he was proclaimed emperor at his birth. 
And there was great joy in the city and men were sent to the 
cities of the empire, bearing the good news, with gifts and 
bounties. 

But the Empress, who had only just been delivered and 
risen from her bed of confinement, sent Amantius to us with 
this message, " I thank Christ that God bestowed on me a son 
on account of your holy prayers. Pray, then, fathers, for his 
life and for my lowly self, in order that I may fufill those 
things which I promised you, Christ himself consenting 
through your holy prayers." And when the seven days of her 
confinement were fulfilled, she sent for us and met us in the 
door of her chamber, carrying in her arms the infant in the 
purple robe. And she inclined her head and said, " Draw 
nigh, fathers, unto me and the child which the Lord granted 
to me through your prayers." And she gave them the child 
that they might seal it with God's signet. And the holy 
bishops sealed both her and the child with the sign of the 
cross, and offering a prayer sat down. And when they had 
spoken many heart-felt words, the lady said to them, " Do 
you know, fathers, what I resolved to do in regard to your 
affair?" If Christ permit, the child will be privileged to re- 
ceive holy baptism in a few days. Depart then and compose 
a petition and insert in it all the requests you wish to make. 
And when the child comes forth from the holy baptismal 
rite, give the petition to him who holds the child in his arms ; 
but I shall instruct him who holds the child what to do, and 
I trust in the Son of God, that He will arrange the whole 
matter according to His loving kindness." Having received 
these directions we blessed her and the infant and went out. 



RELIGIOUS CONFLICT IN THE EAST yg 

Then we composed the petition, inserting many things in the 
document, not only as to the overthrow of the idols, but also 
what privileges and revenues should be granted to holy 
church, and the Christians; for holy church was poor. 

The days ran by, and the day on which the young Em- 
peror Theodosius was to be illuminated (baptized) arrived. 
And all the city was crowned with garlands and decked in 
garments entirely made of silk and gold jewels and all kind 
of ornaments, so that no one could describe the ornaments 
of the city. One might behold the inhabitants multitudinous 
as the waves, arrayed in all manner of various dresses. But 
it is beyond my power to describe the brilliance of that pomp ; 
it is a task for those who are practised writers, and I shall 
proceed to my present true history. When the young Theo- 
dosius was baptized and came forth from the church to the 
Palace, you might behold the excellence of the multitude of 
the magnates and their dazzling raiment, for all were dressed 
in white and you would have thought the multitude was cov- 
ered with snow. The patricians headed the procession, with 
the illustres and all the other ranks and the military contin- 
gents, all carrying wax candles, so that the stars seemed to 
shine on earth. And close to the infant, who was carried in 
arms, was the Emperor Arcadius himself, his face being 
cheerful and more radiant than the purple robe he wore. And 
one of the magnates carried the infant in brilliant apparel. 
And we marvelled beholding such glory. 

Then the holy Porphyrius said to us, " If the things which 
soon vanish possess such glory, how much more glorious are 
the things celestial, prepared for the elect, which neither eye 
hath beheld nor ear heard, nor hath it entered into the heart 
of men to consider." 

And we stood at the portals of the church with our written 
petition, and when he came forth from the baptism, we 
called out aloud, saying, " We petition your Piety," and held 
out the paper. And he who carried the child seeing this and 
knowing our anxiety, for the Empress had instructed him, 
bade the paper be showed to him, and when he received it, 



8o POLITICS AND RELIGION [354 

halted. And he commanded silence and unrolled a part and 
read, and folding it up, placed his hand under the head of the 
child and cried out, " His majesty has ordered the requests 
contained in the petition to be ratified." And all who saw, 
marvelled and did obeisance to the Emperor, congratulating 
him that he had the privilege of seeing his son an emperor 
in his lifetime; and he rejoiced thereat. And that which had 
happened for the sake of her son was announced to the Em- 
press, and she rejoiced and thanked God on her knees. And 
when the child entered the Palace, she met it and received 
and kissed it, and holding it in her arms greeted the Emperor, 
saying, " You are blessed, my lord, for the things which your 
eyes have beheld in your lifetime." And the king rejoiced 
thereat. And the Empress seeing him in good humor, said, 
" Please let us learn what the petition contains that its con- 
tents may be fulfilled." And the Emperor ordered the paper 
to be read, and when it was read, said, " The request is hard, 
but to refuse is harder, since it is the first mandate of our 
son." 

The petition was granted and Eudoxia arranged a meeting 
between the quaester, one of whose offices was to draft the 
imperial rescripts and the bishops, that all the wishes of the 
latter might be incorporated in the edict. The execution of it 
which was invidious and required a strong hand and will, was 
intrusted to Cynegius, and the bishops returned to Palestine, 
having received considerable sums of money from the Em- 
press and Emperor, as well as funds which the Empress had 
promised for the erection of a church at Gaza. 1 

The supremacy of the Arian-orthodox coalition was of 
short duration for a counter-revolution soon restored the 



1 Translation by Bury, The Later Roman Empire (London, i\ 
vol. i, pp. 199 et seq., from Marcus' Life of Porphyry — printed by 
Haupt in the Abhandlungen of the Berlin Academy for 1879. The 
translation is slightly condensed and emended. It is interesting to note 
that Zos., op. cit., v, 18, states that many people said that John was the 
father of Theodosius. 



RELIGIOUS CONFLICT IN THE EAST gl 

pagan-orthodox alliance. In July, 400, Gainas scenting 
danger withdrew from Constantinople and the inhabitants 
rose and slew the Gothic soldiers. Fraviatta, of the pagan 
party, was sent in pursuit of Gainas and finally overpow- 
ered him. Shortly after this victory Aurelian and the 
other Roman hostages escaped and returned to the capital. 
Caesarius, the tool of Gainas, was deposed and imprisoned, 
and Aurelian was restored to power. Fraviatta was re- 
warded with the consulship in 401. 

The restoration of the Roman orthodox party virtu- 
ally settled the question of race and religion in the East. 
The East was to be neither Arian nor barbarian — nor ulti- 
mately pagan, for the temporary alliance of the orthodox 
with the pagan was another case of the lion and the lamb — 
orthodoxy soon devoured weakening paganism. 

We possess as a solitary example evidence as to what 
probably happened to many of the old Romans. Synesius 
of Cyrene (c. 365-413) came to Constantinople 1 while the 
struggles just narrated were in progress. At that time he 
was a pagan, a member of the old Roman party. He was 
thrown in contact and alliance with the orthodox. He tells 
that he even frequented their churches. When the strug- 
gle was over he returned to Cyrene and there became a 
Catholic bishop. So slight was the change necessary for 
the transfer from his paganism to Catholicism that we 
search in vain in his writings to detect the period at which 
it occurred. Of an old pagan family, he had been educated 
at Alexandria in the school of Hypatia, that, famous ex- 
ponent of Neoplatonism. And as a Catholic bishop he still 
preserved his friendship for Hypatia and his Neo-pla- 
tonic doctrines. He was but superficially acquainted with 

1 Seeck, Philologus, Hi, p. 442. 



82 POLITICS AND RELIGION 

the Bible, knew nothing of ecclesiastical canons, and was 
totally ignorant of church tradition or the fathers. In his 
letter to discuss his election as bishop he says : 1 

I am married ; God and the law and the sacred hand of The- 
ophilus gave me my wife and I do not wish to part with her. 
. . . Further, philosophy is opposed to many current dogmas : 
I do not think that the soul is made after the body; nor that 
the world and all its parts will be destroyed; the resurrection 
as preached I count only an allegory and a sacred mystery 
but am far from accepting the general idea. ... I shall be 
sorry to give up sports, but I will. 

It was necessary for Theophilus to confirm this choice and 
a Cyrenan delegation to Alexandria secured this. As 
Chateaubriand remarks, 2 On lui laisse sa femme et ses opin- 
ions, et on le fit eveque . . . on lui laisse sa philosophie et 
il resta a Ptolemaide. 

Synesius preserved an old-time pagan prejudice against 
monks while proving himself quite orthodox in his an- 
tipathy to heretics. In writing to Hypatia, he complains of 
the criticisms of the men in white and the men in black, 
philosophers and monks. He then describes the latter : 3 

Ignorance gives them courage and they are everlastingly 
ready to debate about God. Give them a chance and they 
start their illogical syllogisms and you are deluged with a 
flood of uselss words. It pays, for from their ranks come the 
city preachers and to be that is to hold Amaltheias (cornu- 
copia) horn. . . . They want me to be their disciple and 
promise to make me in a twinkling a ready talker on all things 
of God and to be able to harangue days and nights together. 

As to Eunomians he says, 4 " Take care that these bastard 

1 Synesius, Opera, M. P. G. (Paris, 1859), vol. lxvi; Ep. no. 

2 Etudes historiques, 3. 

3 Synesius, op. cit., Ep., 63. * Ibid., 141. 



RELIGIOUS CONFLICT IN THE EAST 



83 



priests, these newly arrived apostles of the devil and of 
Quintianus, do not, without your notice, leap on the flock 
which you tend." 

With the establishment of Roman and orthodox suprem- 
acy in the East there remained but one question unsolved, 
the relation of state and church. That was soon settled by 
the fall of Chrysostom. When there were no longer inter- 
nal enemies to overcome, his great moral power was no 
longer of service to the Empress Eudoxia, who was then 
the real ruler of the East. His position soon became intol- 
erable both to the Empress and to his own fellow bishops; 
and these enemies taking advantage of his tolerance toward 
the Origenists caused him to be deposed and banished 
(404). With the fall of Chrysostom the church of the 
East took the position it was thereafter to hold as a power 
inferior to and dependent upon the civil authorities. 



CHAPTER III 
The Revolt of Gildo 

While in the East and West officials were taking ad- 
vantage of racial or religious differences in a strife for 
power, in Africa the struggle was almost purely religious. 
For this reason we may study that situation more easily 
and with greater confidence than the complicated and ob- 
scure history which we have just outlined. For not only 
does the absence of the race question in Africa simplify 
our problem, but the sources for the African struggle be- 
tween religions and creeds are much fuller and more ex- 
plicit. There are the laws of the emperors and the acts of 
the church councils, but of even greater importance we 
have the voluminous writings of Augustine. The African 
religious situation revolved around him, and he has left us 
the means by which to trace in detail the development of 
his policy. Indeed, in his strife with the pagans and 
heretics were matured politics which supplanted the toler- 
ance of Stilicho by a sectarianism even more narrow than 
that associated with the names of Rufinus or Eutropius. 
For Augustine, comprehensive as was the sweep of his in- 
tellect, had not the unclouded vision and universal outlook 
of the old Greek philosophers, with whom he is frequently 
compared. He was a defender of the faith as well as its 
constructive architect. As bishop and controversialist he 
was in the thick of the fight, and it was from this double 
standpoint that he became such a decisive figure in the 
formulation of Christian practices of intolerance. For it 
was Augustine who crystallized for later centuries those 
84 



THE REVOLT OP GILDO 85 

theories which were to be cited as a justification of the 
Massacre of St. Bartholomew or the revocation of the 
Edict of Nantes. 

Yet, while our sources are rich, we must be on our 
guard; for the leader in such a cause, large as may have 
been his outlook, was biased in writings as in action. His 
defence of his cause warped his judgment upon men and 
things just as it would that of lesser men. The authority 
which his name carries with it must, therefore, not mislead 
us as we turn to reconstruct, mainly from his own writ- 
ings, the situation which called them forth. 

There were naturally two antagonists to be crushed to 
ensure the triumph of orthodox Christianity — paganism 
and heresy — and Augustine's energies were directed against 
both. Paganism he fought from the opening of his African 
career, and it continued to occupy a large part of his at- 
tention for the rest of his life. At first, his opposition to 
paganism was hardly more than an endeavor to prevent 
its practices from corrupting members of the orthodox 
church. This changed, however, with the overthrow of 
the pagan Count Gildo in 398, to positive action ; the bishop 
and his party taking the offensive and demanding the de- 
struction of temples, statues and sanctuaries. Finally, 
when with the triumph of orthodoxy at the fall of Stili- 
cho in 408, the destruction of the outward marks of pagan- 
ism was turned over to the civil magistrates, Augustine's 
party directed their efforts to the eradication of pagan be- 
liefs. The cults were crushed by Augustine the ecclesias- 
tic by politics and direct action; the mythology was as- 
sailed by Augustine the theologian and philosopher. For 
it was this last phase of the struggle, a literary one, which 
produced Augustine's magnum opus, The City of God. 1 

1 Begun in 413 ; completed in 426. 



86 POLITICS AND RELIGION 

As for heresies, the Donatists, the strongest sect in 
Africa, were the first to engage Augustine. But as their 
strength was largely dependent on their alliance with the 
pagans, the character of Augustine's relations with them 
very nearly paralleled that of his attitude toward the 
pagans ; and follows in general the same stages of develop- 
ment. His treatment of the Manichaeans, on the other 
hand, developed no new policies, in spite of their strength 
in Africa at this time. Augustine's attitude of toleration 
for this party was doubtless due to the fact that earlier in 
his career he had been one of its members. The conflict 
over Pelagianism arose after the pagan and Donatist issues 
had been practically settled, and this explains Augustine's 
attitude toward them. It was the logical development of 
his earlier successes. Triumphant both in theory and prac- 
tices, he imposes his will on the Universal Church. 1 

We shall now trace in detail the development of the con- 
flicts just outlined. In 395, paganism still flourished in 
/ Africa. Powerful in many parts, 2 in some it even pre- 
dominated. 3 Until the overthrow of Gildo the rulers of 
the province were usually of the pagan party. 4 These 
officials worked in the closest harmony with the hereti- 
cal Donatists, 5 and the orthodox were placed in a position 
of relative subordination. The African pagans lived in 
peace; no laws had been passed directly against them and 

1 Late in his life Augustine was forced into a conflict with Arianism ; 
but his death and the triumph of the Arians lessen the importance of 
this struggle for our study. 

2 Carthage, Aug., Serm., 12, and Arzuges, Aug., Ep., 46. 

3 Calama, Aug., Epp. 90, 91 ; Sitifis, Aug., Serm., 19. 6 ; Suffectum, 
Aug., Ep. 50; and Madaura, Aug., Ep. 232. 

* Amongst such officials we notice : Probinus, Proculus, Olybrius, 
Probianus, Flavian, Symmachus, Hesperius and Apollodorius. 
5 Aug., Contra litteras Petiliani, ii, 208, 184. 



THE REVOLT OF GILDO 87 

as is shown by the acts of the councils and Augustine's 
letters, there existed very close social and business relations 
between them and the orthodox. 

This state of affairs placed Christianity in danger of 
being corrupted by pagan practices and gave great con- 
cern to the heads of the church in Africa. The acts of 
the African synods, which have come down to us, mirror 
the situation in detail, and in their insistant repetition em- 
phasize the importance of the question as they faced it. 

In 393, Aurelius, bishop of Carthage, called the first of 
his celebrated series of African Councils, the Council of 
Hippo. 1 Possidius, bishop of Calama, in his Life of Au- 
gustine, tells us 2 that it was a " plenarium totius Africae 
concilium." Aurelius presided and Augustine was pres- 
ent. The Council was concerned chiefly with matters of 
discipline and one of the chief of these was the regulation 
of the relations of Christianity to paganism. It adopted 
the following canons on the subject: (Can. 15) Sons of 
bishops ought not to give games or assist thereat. (Can. 
16) The sons of bishops and those of the clergy in general 
ought not to marry pagans, heretics or schismatics. 3 
(Can. 18) Bishops or clerics should not choose as heirs any 
non-Catholic, even though it be a relative. (Can. 21) No 
one should be ordained as bishop, priest, or deacon before 
he shall have converted to Catholicism all the members of 
his household. (Can. 33) Bishops and clerics ought not to 
celebrate banquets in the church unless compelled by the 
law of hospitality. The people should be excluded from 

1 Hefele, Histoire des Conciles (Paris, 1908), ii, i, 82, 97; Mansi, 
Sacrorum Conciliorum Collectio (Florence and Venice, 1759-98), iii, 
932, 30; Harduin, Conciliorum Collectio (Paris, 1715), i, 953. 

2 Possid., Vita Augustini, c. vii. 

8 This was rather a common practice, as we learn from Jerome, Ep., 
108, 4; 107, 1; and Aug., Ep., 33, 5. 



88 POLITICS AND RELIGION 

such banquets whenever it is possible. (Can. 40) Under 
the title of Divine Scriptures one ought not to read in the 
church anything save the canonical writings. 

The practices here denounced do not seem, however, to 
have ceased. For these acts were reaffirmed four years later 
by the third council of Carthage, 1 on the twenty-eighth 
of August, 397, and four years later, the fifth Council of 
Carthage, which met on the fifteenth and sixteenth of 
June, 401, complained of a continuance of the practices. 
In canon 60, it was stated that contrary to law banquets 
were being accompanied by pagan practices and Christians 
were being forced by the pagans to attend them, and the 
emperors were besought to interfere. In canon 61 another 
request was made of the emperors to prohibit spectacles 
at the theatres and other games from being given on church 
days. 2 

The sixth council of Carthage, which met on the thir- 
teenth of September 3 in the same year (401), asked the 
emperors in conjunction with the bishops to name defend- 
ers, defensores, for the church (Can. 75); and (Can. 81) 
reaffirmed, under penalty of anathema which should extend 
even after death, the command that bishops should not 
choose pagan or heretical relatives as heirs and that they 
should take opportune measures to prevent such relatives 
from inheriting. The legislation of these early African 
church councils is summarized in a document, the Statuta 
Ecclesiae Antiqua, once given as the acts of the fourth 
council of Carthage, but, according to Hefele, now con- 
ceded to be a collection made from the acts of many ancient 

1 Hefele, op. cit., ii, 1, 100-102 ; Mansi, op. cit., iii, 733 ; Harduin, op. 
cit, i, 882. 

2 Hefele, op. cit., ii, 1, 126. Harduin, op. cit., i, 898. 

3 Harduin, op. cit., i, 903 et seq.; Mansi, op. cit., iii, 770; Hefele, op. 
cit., ii, 1, 125-129. 



THE REVOLT OP GILDO go, 

councils, Oriental as well as African, at some time before 
the end of the sixth century. It is of interest, however, 
to quote the following canons: 1 (Can. 16) A bishop shall 
read no pagan books and those of heretics only when nec- 
essary. (Can. 47) A cleric ought not to go on the streets 
or in public places unless necessary. (Can.' 88) Whoever 
absents himself from services on a feast day and goes to 
a theatre ought to be excommunicated. (Can. 89) Who- 
ever passes his time with augurs or occupies himself with 
incantations ought to be excluded from the church; also 
those who participate in Jewish superstitions or celebrate 
pagan holidays. (Can. 84) Let no bishop forbid anyone ; 
be he pagan, heretic or Jew, from entering the church and 
hearing the word of God up to the beginning of the mass 
of the catechumen. 

The danger of corruption from pagan customs was a real 
one. The enemies of the church recognized that this was 
taking place, and used it as an argument against the ortho- 
dox. The Manichaean, Faustus, asserted to Augustine that 
the orthodox 2 retained the manners of the gentiles. Au- 
gustine knew this and worked against it. We have his ac- 
count s of how he combated the pagan practices of the 
Laetitia, which had crept into the church. He describes 
its origin : 

Some were becoming openly violent, declaring that they could 
not submit to the prohibition of that feast day which they 
call Laetitia, ... a feast, disgraced by intemperance in their 
temple. I explained to them the circumstances out of which 
this custom seems to have necessarily arisen in the Church . . . 
namely, that when, in the peace which came after numerous 

1 Harduin, op. cit., i, 975-986; Mansi, op. cit., ii, 1196-1214; Hefele, 
op. cit., ii, 1, 102-120. 

2 Aug., Contra Faustum Manichaeum, xx, 23. 

3 Aug., Ep., 29 (395) to Alypius. 



g Q POLITICS AND RELIGION 

and violent persecutions, crowds of heathen who wished to 
assume the Christian religion were kept back, because, having 
been accustomed to celebrate the feasts connected with their 
worship of idols in revelling and drunkenness, they could not 
easily refrain from pleasures so hurtful and so habitual, it had 
seemed good to our ancestors, making for a time a concession 
to this infirmity, to permit them to celebrate, instead of the 
festivals which they renounced, other feasts in honor of the 
holy martyrs, which were observed not as before with a pro- 
fane design, but with similar self-indulgence. 

He showed that it was not a universal practice; speak- 
ing of : 

Churches beyond the sea, in some of which these practices 
have never been tolerated, while in others they have already 
been put down by the people, complying with the counsel of 
good ecclesiastical rulers ; and as the examples of daily ex- 
cesses in the use of wine in the church of the blessed Apostle 
Peter were brought forward in defence of the practice, I said 
in the first place, that I had heard that these excesses had 
been forbidden, but because in such a city the multitude of 
carnally-minded men was great, the foreigners especially, — of 
whom there is a constant influx, — clinging to' that practice with 
an obstinacy proportioned to their ignorance, the suppression 
of so great an evil had not been possible as yet. 

In one of his sermons he complained x of those Chris- 
tians of Carthage who " sit down with false gods " under 
the pretense that they are merely assisting in a feast to the 
tutelary genius of Carthage. " It is no God you will say; 
because it is the tutelary genius of Carthage, (Coelestis. 2 ) 

1 Aug., Semi., xii, 10. 

2 Cf. Salvian, De Gubernatione Dei, viii, 5, for his wrath at Coelestis 
about fifty years later. For cult, see G. Boissier, Rev. des Deux 
Mondes, Jan., 1895. Also De Praedictionibus, iii, 38; cf. infra, p. 106. 



THE REVOLT OF GILDO ( j! 

Do not be afraid of the threats of the ungodly ... In an 
idol's temple He forbids it (submitting to allegiance)." 
. . . " They threaten a prison; He threatens Hell." . . . 
" A man has yielded to threats and been led away to the 
idol's temples, ... be not afraid of the threats of the un- 
godly." 

On St. John's day Christians were wont to plunge into 
the sea for purification. Augustine showed his disapproval 
of such a pagan practice by absenting himself from it. 1 

In the letters which Augustine exchanged with Publi- 
cola 2 we can get a good insight into the daily relations be- 
tween pagan and Christian. Publicola writes : 

In the country of the Arzuges it is customary, as I have heard, 
for the barbarians to take an oath, swearing by their false gods, 
in the presence of the decurion stationed on the frontier, or 
of the tribune, when they have come under an engagement to 
carry baggage to any part or to protect the crops from depre- 
dation; and when the decurion certifies in writing that this 
oath has been taken, the owners or farmers of the land employ 
them as watchmen of their crops, or travelers, who have occa- 
sion to pass through their country, hire them as if assured of 
their now being trustworthy. Now a doubt has arisen in my 
mind whether the landlord who thus employs a barbarian of 
whose fidelity he is persuaded, in consequence of such an oath, 
does not make himself and the crop committed to that man's 
charge to share the defilement of that sinful oath, and so with 
the traveler who may employ his services. I should mention, 
however, that in both cases the barbarian is rewarded for his 
services with money. Nevertheless, in both transactions there 
comes in, besides the pecuniary remuneration, this oath before 
the decurion or tribune, involving mortal sin. I am concerned 
as to whether this sin does not defile either him who accepts 

1 Aug., Serm., 196 (Migne). 
2 Aug., Epp., 46, 47 (398). 



92 



POLITICS AND RELIGION 



the oath of the barbarian or at least the things which are com- 
mitted to the barbarian's keeping. . . . 

I have also heard that my own land-stewards receive from 
the barbarians hired to protect the crops an oath in which they 
appeal to their false gods. Does not this oath defile these 
crops that if a Christian uses them or takes the money realized 
from their sale, he is himself defiled? 

... Is it lawful for a Christian to use wheat or beans 
from the threshing-floor, or wine or oil from the press, if, with 
his knowledge, some part of what has been taken thence was 
offered in sacrifice to a false god? [The letter goes on to in- 
quire about wood from an idol's grove ; meat offered to idols ;. 
drinking from a fountain into which anything from a sacrifice 
has been cast ; baths used by pagans ; sedan chairs used by 
pagans; vegetables or fruit from the garden of a temple or 
priest of an idol.] 

Augustine replies to these questions of Publicola, after 
having assured him that it is not so great a sin to swear 
falsely by false gods as by the true one : 

If we answer this in the negative, I know not whether we 
could live. For, not only on the frontier, but throughout the 
provinces, the security of peace rests on the oaths of barbar- 
ians. ... As we have no scruples as to air from the smoke 
of altars and incense from idols, ... so also with meats, 
wood, etc. . . . The case you mention of a Christian on a 
journey overcome by the extremity of hunger; whether, if he 
could find nothing to eat but meat placed in an idol's temple, 
and there was no man near to relieve him, it would be better 
for him to die of starvation than to take that food for his 
nourishment ? Since in this question it is not assumed that the 
food thus found was offered to the idols; for it might have 
been left by mistake or designedly by persons who, on a jour- 
ney, had turned aside to take refreshments; or it might have 
been put there for some other purpose, I answer briefly thus : 
It is certain either that the food was offered to idols or that it 



THE REVOLT OF GILDO 93 

was not, or else we know nothing about it. If the food was 
offered, it would be better to reject it with a Christian forti- 
tude. In either of the other alternatives it might be used in 
case of necessity without any conscientious scruple. 

His letters to Paul x show his desire to secure an argu- 
mentative literature for use against the pagans, who were 
causing " most prolix debates." And we have Augustine's 
account of his debate with the old grammarian Maximus 
of Madaura, 2 a staunch supporter of the ancient gods. At 
this period Christianity as an opponent of paganism was 
clearly on the defensive. 

But the danger threatening orthodox Christianity from 
paganism was relatively insignificant when compared with 
the Donatist peril. At this time the Donatists were so 
strong that they were usurping the privileges of the church. 
And inasmuch as they held the orthodox cult, the laws of 
the emperors were not applicable against them, at least not 
directly. They were not branded as heretics until 405. 8 
And until 398 the orthodox party was so comparatively 
weak that it was unable to secure the application to the 
Donatists of the general edicts; while on the other hand, 
the strength of the latter enabled them to enforce the pen- 
alties of the general edicts against their schismatics, 4 es- 
pecially the Maximianists. And so the orthodox were 
forced to the extremity of citing their enemies before the 
vicar. 5 Their strength was further augmented by means 

1 Aug., Epp., 31, 8 (396) ; 42 (397)- 

2 Ibid., 16, 17. 

3 Cod. Theod., xvi, 6, 4; xvi, n, 2; xvi, 6, 5; xvi, 5, 38. 

4 Augustine, Ep., 44, 7; Contra Cresconium grammaticum, iii, 59, 65; 
iv, 1, 1 ; 3, 3 ; 46, 55 ; Enarrationes in Psalmos, 2. This schism devel- 
oped when the deacon Maximian of Carthage broke away from the 
regular Donatist church under its leader Primian. 

5 Aug., Ep., 87, 8; Contr. Litt. Pet, ii, 84, 184; 58, 132. 



94 POLITICS AND RELIGION 

of an efficient instrument which they possessed in their 
bands of fanatic circumcelliones x for overpowering or 
terrorizing adversaries. 

The relative power of the two parties was greatly af- 
fected by a change of leaders in 391-2. For the orthodox 
Augustine was ordained priest at Hippo, and Aurelius suc- 
ceeded Genethlius at Carthage. While Genethlius had been 
of so mild a disposition that he would quarrel with no one, 
his successor, Aurelius, as well as Augustine, was of the 
fighting type. In the Donatist camp, the very successful 
leader Parmenian was replaced by Primian, who soon had 
on his hands a schism of his own, that of the Maximian- 
ists. 2 The zeal of the new and energetic leaders of the 
orthodox at first was limited to persuasion and propaganda, 
as is shown in the Acts of the Councils and Augustine's 
writings. 

The council of Hippo, whose canons against paganism we 
have already mentioned, 5 enacted canons relative to heresy 
and schism. Sons of bishops or clerics were not to marry 
heretics or schismatics (Canon 16). Orthodox bishops 
and clerics were not to leave their property to non-Cath- 
olics (Canon 18), and the former prescription of the coun- 
cils, according to which Donatist clerics were to be received 
into the church only as laics, should conserve its force ex- 
cept for those who had never rebaptized or who should 
have re-entered the church with their whole parish. (Such 
ones might retain their ecclesiastical dignities.) They 
might do this if Rome agreed. Rome also was to be con- 
sulted as to whether infants baptized should be received at 
the altar (Canon 41). 

1 The circumcelliones were pillagers who traversed the country, burn- 
ing and plundering. They included escaped slaves, coloni, and even 
oppressed curials. In fact, they represented a social revolt. 

2 Aug., Ep., 43, 9, 26 ; Contr. Cresc, iv, 6, 7. 

3 Supra, p. 87. 



THE REVOLT OP GILDO g$ 

The Statuta Ecclesiae Antiqua 1 states: That a cleric 
should avoid dinners and the company of heretics and 
schismatics (Canon 70) ; that the reunions of heretics 
ought not to be called churches but rather conventicles 
(Canon 71) ; that no one ought to pray or chant psalms 
with heretics (Canon 72) ; that bishops should forbid no 
one, be he pagan, heretic, or Jew, from hearing the word 
of God up to the beginning of the mass of the catechumens 
(Canon 84) ; that if a Catholic should take a case of his 
own before a heretical tribunal or judge he should be ex- 
communicated (Canon 87) ; and that before every tribunal 
the conduct and religion both of the accused and of the 
complainant ought to be investigated (Canon 96). 

In this situation Augustine tried to secure literature 
from Jerome 2 against the heretics. He complained to the 
authorities and asked for an investigation regarding re- 
baptisms. 3 His activities were so pronounced as to incite 
an attempt on his life. 4 

But his chief efforts were directed toward the conversion 
of the Donatists through the medium of conferences. He 
asked for a conference with Proculian, the Donatist bishop 
of Hippo. 5 His request was most humbly stated. He ad- 
dressed Proculian as " Dominus honor abilis et delectis- 
simns" and allowed to him the entire choice as to whether 
the conference be public or private, or the mere exchange 
of letters. But Proculian disdainfully would not debate. 
Powerful as were the efforts of Aurelius and Augustine 
for the conversion of their opponents, results would nec- 

1 Supra, p. 88. 

2 Aug., Ep., 40, 9. 

3 Aug., Epp., 34, 35- 

*Possid., Vita Aug., 10 and 13; Aug., Ep., 35, 4; Enchiridion, 17. 
5 Aug., Epp., 33, 34, 35 (396 A. D.). 



96 POLITICS AND RELIGION 

essarily have been slow in arriving had it not been for a 
strategic misstep on the part of their opponents. 

The event of first instance in deciding the final triumph 
of orthodoxy was the revolt of Gildo in 397-8. Ordi- 
narily historians treat of this rebellion as being solely the 
result of a political agreement between the leaders in Africa 
and the East, namely, Gildo and Eutropius. In reality it 
was far more than a political disturbance : it was based on 
the religious differences of Africa; it was a part of the con- 
flict between religions and creeds. It was the already ex- 
isting struggle between the pagan-Donatist and the ortho- 
dox parties that afforded the opportunity for Eutropius 
and Gildo. Then Stilicho in order to maintain Roman su- 
premacy found it to his advantage to take sides with the 
orthodox, and this increase of strength afforded the im- 
petus which started orthodoxy on its way to supremacy. 
The eventual victory of the orthodox was thus due indi- 
rectly to the alliance of Gildo with Eutropius and directly 
to the aid of the tolerant Stilicho. 

Gildo was count of Africa. 1 His ambition to secure 
greater independence for himself led him to enter into 
negotiations with Eutropius for the transfer of Africa 
to the dominion of Arcadius. 2 Gildo received his chief 
support from the pagan-Donatist party; himself a pagan, 
he had as chief satellite and councillor Optatus, the 
Donatist bishop of Thamugadi, often spoken of as Opta- 
tus Gildonianus. 3 As has been mentioned above, 4 his 
support of the Donatists was won by the policy of protect- 

1 Orosius, op. cit., vii, 36; Marcellin, Chron. 

2 Claudian, In. Eut, i, 399"4io ; De Bell. Gild., 235, 245 ; In St., i, 270- 
295; Zos., v, 11. 

3 Aug., Contr. Lift. Pet., ii, 23; De Baptismo, ii, 16. 

4 Supra, p. 86. 



THE REVOLT OF GILDO gy 

ing them with the troops of the province. Africa being 
the granary for Rome, 1 it was more than a religious motive 
which caused Stilicho to act and act immediately. The 
Senate was called to consider the situation; Gildo was de- 
clared a public enemy, 2 and an expedition was fitted out to 
proceed against him. Here Stilicho showed his grasp of 
the religious situation. He did not deem it necessary to 
prepare a large army. What he did, was so to organize 
the expedition as to profit by the religious discontent in 
Africa. He gave the command to Mascezel, a brother of 
Gildo, 3 who was an orthodox Christian. Then Mascezel, 
having sailed from Pisa 4 with a small army, stopped at 
the Island of Capraria, in order to recruit a religious force. 
The pagan poet Rutillus Namatianus tells us 5 that Capra- 
ria was given over to the monks. Orosius shows that these 
monks played an important part in the campaign : " Mas- 
cezel went to the Island of Capraria from whence he took 
with him saintly servants of God, won by his prayers, con- 
tinuing with these, haranguing, fasting and singing psalms 
day and night, he won a victory without a battle and ven- 
geance without slaughter." 6 Petilian, the Donatist bishop 
of Africa, later accused Augustine of introducing monks 
into Africa. 7 Apparently Augustine stimulated the monks 
to come to his rescue. We have an interesting letter from 

1 Claudian, de Cons. St., i, 270-280. 

2 Claudian, i, Cons. St., i, 325 ; Bell. Gild., 380 et seq. 

3 Orosius, op. cit., vii, 36. 

* Claudian, de Bell. Gild., 483-504. 

5 Rutillius Namatianus, op. cit., i, 439-448. 

6 Orosius, op. cit., vii, 36. 

T Aug., Contr. Lift. Pet., iii, 48. Ferrere, La situation religieuse, p. 
4, believes this testimony without value because the monks came with 
Mascezel; cf. Possid., op. cit., cc. 5-11. 



98 POLITICS AND RELIGION 

Augustine to these monks. 1 In this he tells of the grievous 
position in which he is placed, complains that his burden 
is so heavy that he can scarcely bear it, and then exhorts 
the brothers as follows : " if the Church our Mother de- 
mands active service, guard both against a too sharp or 
impatient ardor and against the solicitations of a too great 
love of repose but obey humbly and submit to God who 
governs you. . . . Do not prefer repose to the necessities 
of the church." 

Mascezel, by taking advantage of the religious forces, 
won a complete victory. 2 The pagan-Donatist party was 
completely overthrown. Gildo either was slain 3 or com- 
mitted suicide. 4 Optatus, the Gildonite, was one of the 
first accused as a satellite of the rebel. 5 -He was thrown 
into prison and died there. His party accused Augustine 
of having been accessory to his death, and later venerated 
him as a martyr. Partisans of the revolt were still being 
pursued with severity as late as 409. 6 The fall of this party 
was not, however, immediately followed by a grand tri- 
umph for their adversaries. Mascezel, himself, did not 
succeed to the position made vacant by the death of his 
brother, for Stilicho would no more favor a narrow re- 
ligious partisanship in Africa than at Rome. According 
to Zosimus, 7 Mascezel was drowned at Stilicho's com- 
mand. Orosius merely states that his end was a just retri- 
bution for having profaned a church. 8 Two imperial 

1 Aug., Ep., 48 to Eudoxius and Brothers. 

2 Zos., op. cit., v, 11; Claudian, de Con. St., i, 248-269. 

8 Claudian, de Cons. St., i, 248-269. 

* Zos., op. cit., v, 11. 

5 Aug., Contr. Litt. Pet., ii, 209; Ep., 76, 3. 

6 Cod. Theod., ix, 40, 19; ix, 39, 3; ix, 42, 16; ix. 42, 19; vii, 8, 7; 
vii, 8, 9. 

7 Zos., op. cit., v, 11. 

8 Orosius, op. cit., vii, 36. 



THE REVOLT OF G1LD0 gg 

functionaries, Counts Gaudentius and Jovius, 1 were sent 
into Africa as direct representatives of the crown and num- 
erous specific edicts were issued to bear directly on the 
African situation. These new laws seem intended to re- 
press any unlawful acts on the part of pagans or heretics 
rather than to give new powers to the orthodox. They 
reflect the mildness and the conciliatory policy of Stilicho. 

During the recent period of unrest considerable injury 
had been done to the Catholics in certain localities by bands 
of circumcelliones." Possibly as a result of this the fol- 
lowing measure was enacted on the twenty-fifth of April, 
398: 

If anyone shall commit such sacrilege as to break into Catholic 
churches and offer injury to the priests and ministers, or the 
divine worship, or to the place itself, let the occurrence be re- 
ported in writing by the city councils, magistrates, curators 
and assistant notaries, who are called stationarii, to the pro- 
vincial authorities, setting forth the words used by those who 
could be identified. And if it be alleged that the offence was 
committed by a great number and that they cannot all be iden- 
tified, it may be possible to discover some by whose confession 
the name of their associates may be disclosed. And the gov- 
ernor (moderator) of the province is to understand that any 
insult to the priests and ministers of the Catholic Church or to 
the divine worship or to the place itself is to be visited with 
capital punishment upon the parties who are convicted or who 
plead guilty ; nor shall he wait for the bishop to demand satis- 
faction for the insult to himself, since his holy character leaves 
him no glory save that of forgiving. It shall be not only per- 
missible to all but quite praiseworthy to prosecute outrageous 
insult offered to priests or ministers as public crime and to 
demand the punishment of the persons guilty of such offences. 
And if the turbulent mob cannot be repressed by the civil 

1 Aug., City of God, xviii, c, 54. 

2 Aug., De Gestis cum Emerito, 9 ; Contr. Litt. Pet., ;ii, 195, 184, 33. 



IOO POLITICS AND RELIGION 

authorities and the assistance of the councillors and men of 
property, because it defends itself by arms or the strength of 
its position, let the African judges, making written application 
to his worthiness, the Count of Africa, citing the contents of 
the present law and demand the support of his armed forces, 
in order that they who are guilty of such crimes may not es- 
cape. 1 

A law of the twenty-fifth of June, 399, reads : 2 

If the privileges of any venerable church shall have been vio- 
lated by temerity or neglected through dissimulation, let the 
offence be punished by a fine of five pounds of gold as for- 
merly decreed. If therefore anything has been obtained by 
chicane against church or clergy by heretics or men of that 
sort, and it is against the laws, we declare it null and void by 
the authority of this decree. 

1 Co d. Theod., xvi, 2, 31, 398 (409, Jan. 13). " Theodoro P. P. Si 
quis in hoc genus sacrilegii proruperit, tit in ecclesias catholicas inruens 
sacerdotibus et ministris vel ipsi cultui locoque aliquid inportet injuriae, 
quod geritur litteris ordinum, magistratuum et curatorum et notoriis 
apparitorum, quos stationarios appellant, deferatur in notitiam potes- 
tatum, ita ut vocabula eorum, qui agnosci potuerint, declarentur. Et 
si per multitudinem commissum dicetur, si non omnes, possint tamen 
aliquanti cognosci, quorum confessione sociorum nomina publicentur. 
Adque ita provinciae moderator sacerdotum et catholicae ecclesiae 
ministrorum, loci quoque ipsius et divini cultus injuriam capitali in 
convictos_ sivi confessos reos sententia noverit vindicandam nee ex- 
pectet, ut episcopus injuriae propriae ultionem deposcat, cui sanctitas 
ignoscendi solam gloriam dereliquit. Sitque cunctis non solum liberum, 
sed et laudabile factas atroces sacerdotibus aut ministris injurias veluti 
publicum crimen persequi ac de talibus reis ultionem mereri. Quod si 
multitudo violenta civilis apparitionis executione et adminiculo ordinum 
possessorumve non potuerit praesentari, quod se armis aut locorum 
difficultate tueatur, judices Africani armatae apparitionis praesidium, 
datis ad virum spectabilem comitem Africae litteris, praelato legis istius 
tenore deposcant, ut rei talium criminum non evadant." 

* Ibid., xvi, 2, 34. " Si ecclesiae venerabilis privilegia cuiusquam 
fuerint vel temeritate violata vel dissimulatione neglecta, commissum 
quinque librarum auri, sicut etiam prius constitutum est, condemnatione 
plectatur. Si quid igitur contra ecclesias vel clericos per obreptionem 
vel ab hereticis vel ab huiuscemodi hominibus fuerit contra leges im- 
petratum, huius sanctionis auctoritate vacuamus." 



THE REVOLT OF GILDO IO i 

These laws were plainly intended for the maintenance of 
peace and order, not for the punishment of any sect. The 
change- in the relations of heterodox and orthodox resulted, 
in last analysis, not so much from new grants of power as 
from the appointment of officials friendly to the latter party. 
We shall see in the next chapter how this led to a devel- 
opment of orthodox power. Here we may note the effect 
of this change in the relations between orthodox Chris- 
tians .and pagans. 

It was the new office-holders working in harmony with 
the Catholics that increased the difficulties of the pagans. 
The edicts actually issued against the pagans were not of 
an intolerant nature. Reunions for religious sacrifices were 
again prohibited but their works of art were preserved. A 
law of the twenty-ninth of January 399, 1 reads : 

Just as we prohibit sacrifices, so at the same time we will that 
the ornaments of public works be preserved. Nor let those who 
try to destroy them allege any rescript or legal authority for 
their act. Let all writings of this kind be taken from them 
and referred to our attention. If they produce spurious war- 
rants, either in their own name or in the name of others, let 
such warrants be given up and forwarded to us. Whoever 
shall have given currency to such writings must pay a fine of 
two pounds of gold. 

Another law of the twentieth of August, addressed to the 
Proconsul of Africa, 2 conserves pagan feast days : 

1 Cod. Theod., xvi, 10, 15. " Macrobio Vicario Hispaniarum et Pro- 
cliano Vicario Quinque Provinciarum. Sicut sacrificia prohibemus, ita 
volumus publicorum operum ornamenta servari. Ac ne sibi aliqua 
auctoritate blandiantur, qui ea conantur evertere, si quod rescriptum, si 
qua lex forte praetenditur. Erutae huiusmodi chartae ex eorum mani- 
bus ad nostram scientiam referantur, si inlicitis evectiones aut suo aut 
alieno nomine potuerint demonstrare, quas oblatas ad nos mitti de- 
cernimus. Qui vero talibus cursum praebuerint, binas auri libras in- 
ferre cogantur." 

2 Ibid., xvi, 10, 17. Apollodoro, Procons. Af. "Ut profanos 



102 POLITICS AND RELIGION 

Although we have already suppressed profane rites by a whole- 
some law, yet we will not allow the festal assemblies and the 
common sports of the citizens to be disturbed. We decree that 
the sports, following ancient custom, be held for the people, 
together with the festive banquets, whenever the public voice 
demands, but without any criminal superstition or sacrifice. 

On the same date, 1 the following was promulgated : 

Let no one invoke our ordinances in order to attempt to destroy 
such temples as are free of illicit things. And in order that 
the status of buildings themselves be unimpaired, we decree 
that if anyone shall have been discovered in sacrifice, he be pun- 
ished according to law, after the idols have been deposited 
with a magistrate, by means of such proceedings as it is even 
now possible to use against the cult of vain superstition. 

Hydatius, writing later (fl. c. 420), speaks of the de- 
struction of idols in Africa; 2 "In this consulship (Mal- 
lius Theodorus) the temples of the gentiles were demol- 
ished, Jovian and Gaudentius being counts." This could not 
have been wholly true, or the orthodox would not have been 

ritus jam salubri lege submovimus, ita festos conventus civium et com- 
munem omnium laetitiam non patimur submoveri. Unde absque ullo 
sacrificio atque ulla superstitione damnabili exhiberi populo voluptates 
secundum veterem consuetudinem, inriri etiam festa convivia. si quando 
exigunt publica vota, decernimus." 

1 Cod. Theod., xvi, 10, 18. Apollodoro, Proc. Af. "Aedes inlicitis 
rebus vacuas nostrarum beneficio sanctionum ne quis conetur evertere. 
Decernimus enim, ut aedificiorum quidem sit integer status, si quis vero 
in sacrificio fuerit deprehensus, in eum legibus vindicetur. depositis sub 
officio idolis disceptatione habita, quibus etiam nunc patuerit cultum 
vanae superstitionis inpendi." 

2 Hydatius, Chron. "His. Conss. (Manlio et Theodoro) templa 
gentilium demolita sunt, Joviniano et Gaudentio comitibus." Notice 
that Eutropius, who was consul in the East at this time, is not recog- 
nized. Then, as there should be two consuls, Hydatius has split the 
name of Manillius Theodorus, thus providing for his two consuls. 



THE REVOLT OF GILDO 103 

dissatisfied with the laws obtained. The Councils of Car- 
thage (V and VI), of the fifteenth or sixteenth of June, 
and of the thirteenth of September, 401, both demand 
fuller authority for this work of destruction. 1 

The emperor shall be solicited to allow the remnant of idolatry 
in Africa to be destroyed, not only in images but in whatever 
sort of place, whether in groves or woods. . . . There is press- 
ing need also to importune the religious emperors to give orders 
that the rest of the idols in Africa be removed, for in many 
maritime places and on different estates this iniquitous error 
still flourishes, and also to command that these be destroyed, 
together with the temples which are in the fields or secret 
places, and even those without ornaments. 

Augustine himself was careful not to proceed against idols 
until he was sure of a law to support his action, as is shown 
in one of his sermons : 

They say that we are enemies of their idols. May God grant 
that all be given into our power, as he hath already given us 
that which we have broken down. For this I say, beloved, 
you may not attempt to do, when it is not lawfully in your 
power to do. . . . When the land shall have been given into 
your power . . . then, saith He, ye shall destroy their altars 
and break in pieces their images. When the power has not 
been given we do not act; when it is given, we do not fail to 
use it. Many pagans have these abominations on their estates, 

1 Mansi, iii, 766; Hefele, ii, 1, 125; Harduin, i, 988, c. 15. "Item pla- 
cuit, ab Imperatoribus gloriosissimis peti ut reliquiae idolatriae non 
solum in simulacris, sed in quibuscumque locis, vel lucis vel arboribus 
omnimode deleantur." Ibid., i, 898 (58). "Instant etiam aliae necessi- 
tates a religiosis Imperatoribus postulandae, ut reliquias idolorum per 
onnem Af ricam jubeant penitus amputari : nam plerisque in locis mari- 
timis, adque possessionibus diversis, adhuc erroris istius iniquitas viget : 
ut praecipiantur et ipsa deleti, et templa eorum, quae in agris, vel in 
locis abditis constituta nullo ornamento sunt, jubeantur omni modo 
destrui." 



104 



POLITICS AND RELIGION 



— do we go and break their idols in pieces? No, for our first 
efforts are that the idol in their hearts should be broken down. 
. . . They think that we are looking out for idols everywhere, 
and that we break them down in all places where we have 
discovered them. Are there not places before our very eyes 
in which they are? And yet we do not break them down be- 
cause God has not given them into our power. 1 

In carrying on the work in Africa some trouble was en- 
countered. The destruction or removal of the statue of 
Hercules in SufTectum resulted in serious riots in which 
sixty Christians were killed. Augustine complains of this 
murder : 2 " In your city there has been shed the innocent 
blood of sixty of our brethren ; and whoever approved him- 
self most active in this massacre, was rewarded with your 
applause, and with a high place in your council. ... If 
you say that Hercules belonged to you we will make good 
your loss." At Carthage there was still a statue of Her- 
cules which a new magistrate had permitted the pagans to 
gild. The Christians, irritated by its new luster, secured 
the permission of the magistrates of their own faith to cut 
off its golden beard, thus greatly offending the pagans. 
The people interrupted Augustine's sermon demanding the 
entire abolition of paganism. It seems that Aurelius, the 
bishop of Carthage, had stirred the people to make this de- 
mand. Augustine commended their zeal 3 and prayed them 
to leave the matter to the bishops. They were doing all that 
they could and he gave them hopes of a successful issue 
since God had promised the entire destruction of idolatry, 
and that had already transpired in different places even at 
Rome itself. 

1 Aug., Serm., xii. 

2 Aug., £/>., so (399). 

3 Aug., Serm., 24 (ed. Migne), preached at Carthage, " Gratulatur 
fidelibus dei zelo incensis contra idola." 



THE REVOLT OF GILDO IC >5 

This statement of Augustine regarding Rome is a 
clear exaggeration, paganism was not yet extinct there. 
We know that even the Catholic senators did not dare to 
act openly, as is shown by a letter which Augustine ad- 
dressed 1 to Pammachius, a wealthy Roman senator, son- 
in-law of Paula, who held possessions in Africa: 

Had you not been rooted as you are in His love, you would 
not have dealt as you have with your African tenants (coloni) 
settled in the midst of the consular province of Numidia? . . . 
We desire in Africa to see such work as this by which you. 
have gladdened us, done by many, who are, like yourself, sena- 
tors in state and sons of Holy Church. It is, however, hazard- 
ous to give them this exhortation; they may refuse to follow 
it, and the enemies of the church will take advantage of this 
victory over us in the minds of those who disregard our 
counsel. ... I have, therefore, thought it sufficient to ask you 
to read this letter with friendly boldness to any to whom you 
can do so on the grounds of their Christian profession. 

Many years later, when writing his City of God, Augus- 
tine tells how the pagans were expecting the end of Chris- 
tianity in 398; that there had been a prophecy that Chris- 
tianity would last 365 years from the death of its founder. 
But no writing shows a contemporaneous knowledge of 
this prophecy, nor is Augustine confirmed by any other 
later writer. He says : 

Now, in the following year, in the consulate of Mallius Theo- 
dorus, when, according to that oracle of demons or figment 
of men, there ought already to have been no Christian religion, 
it was not necessary to enquire what perchance was done in 
other parts of the earth. But, as we know, in the most promi- 
nent city of Carthage in Africa, Gaudentius and Tovius, offi- 
cers of the Emperor Honorius, on the fourteenth day before 

1 Aug., Ep., 58 (401). 



k" 



106 POLITICS AND RELIGION 

the kalends of April, overthrew the temples and broke the 
images of the false gods. 1 

Some laws though not severe were obtained against the 
pagans ; imperial officers came to Africa to enforce them and 
the temple of Celestus at Carthage was turned over to the 
party in power. The story is told in the Liber de Promis- 
sionibas et Praedictionibus Dei. 2 For years the exceedingly 
large and richly ornamented temple of Celestus had been 
vacant. The Christians wished it for their use, and ac- 
cordingly on Easter a multitude of priests, among whom 
was Aurelius, took possession of the building. The author 
of the account states that he was a small boy at the cere- 
mony, and that on entering to inspect the temple he had 
found an inscription, "Aurelius pontifex dedicavit." The 
people were greatly astounded and confusing Aurelius, the 
bishop, with Aurelius, the emperor, they believed that this 
was a prophecy. This same book tells of the discovery of 
images hidden in the caves in Mauritania. The destruction 
of a fearful man-eating dragon at Rome itself is also de- 
scribed. Apparently the alliance between pagan and Dona- 
tist was not very binding, for upon the overthrow of Gildo, 
according to Augustine, the Donatists turned to help the 
orthodox with the destruction of paganism. 3 " For neither 
will the Maximianists, whose churches wherever you were 
able you plundered, stand against you, nor the pagans,, 
whose temples certainly wherever you were able, you over- 
turned and whose sanctuaries you destroyed; just as we 
also did." 

That the pagan party at Rome was not in disgrace as the 

1 Aug., De Civitate Dei, 18, 53, 54. 

s Liber de Promissionibus et Praedictionibus Dei, 3, 38-44, formerly 
attributed to Prosper. 

3 Aug., Contr. Gaud., i, 38; cf. Contr. Ep. Par., i, 19. 



THE REVOLT OF GILDO 



107 



result of the African revolt at this time is evident from 
two appointments of the year. Mallius Theodorus, an 
intimate friend of Symmachus, whom Claudian eulogized 
in his panygeric, De Theodoro, 1 was made consul in the 
West for the year 399. 2 The other appointment was that 
of Flavianus, Symmachus' son-in-law, as prefect of Rome. 3 
The elder Flavianus had killed himself at the battle of 
Frigidus. His estates then confiscated, were later restored 
to his son, 4 but Augustine leads one to suppose that it was 
only upon their becoming Christians. During the revolt 
of Gildo, the pagan party at Rome had remained faithful. 
In regard to Flavianus's appointment we have the follow- 
ing letter : 5 

I am in no wise able to render sufficient thanks for what you 
have just done regarding my son Flavianus, and although 
speech should be easier than action, it is possible for me to 
elevate mine to the level of graciousness. My gratitude is so 
great only because we see in Flavianus a man restored to the 
favor which he had lost. The senate and the whole nation 
testify their joy. It is difficult for the discourse of an indi- 
vidual to acquit the debt of so many; but in consideration of 
the importance of the affair, you will pardon this one who 
speaks so briefly. There is more merit in restoring a dignity 
than in conferring it ; in the latter case it is chance which con- 
sents, in the former it is goodness which compels. The father 
of the princes, who to-day is in the heavens, has given similar 
examples of clemency: he restored to Flavianus many things 
which the course of events had caused him to lose. Honorius 
has received this goodness as a precious heritage, and by the 
advice of your greatness, he has added this act of virtue to his 
inheritance, thus indicating that the time, and not the intention, 

1 Claudian, De Theodoro ; biography by Peter Paul Rubens. 

2 Symmachus, Ep., 5, 6. * Cod. Theod., xiv, 10, 3. 
* Symmachus, iv, 19. 5 Symmachus, iv, 7. 



io 8 POLITICS AND RELIGION 

has been lacking to the divine prince, whose worthy successor 
continues the work of clemency interrupted by cruel destiny. 
A very mild and august prince has crowned the acts of his 
father, and I wish him, in the name of the public good, always 
to have your like as a minister; for the ministers of a great 
empire who advise only just things are the instruments of a 
happy age. Our emperor has a spirit which comes from a 
divine source and a nature given entirely to virtue. . . The 
love of the soldiers for you and the knowledge of your useful- 
ness have rendered his glory more dear. This is why you 
always make easy for him the paths of love, and keep him, 
absorbed as he is in the greatest things, from disdaining to 
consider private affairs. The public evils have vanished and 
dissatisfaction is no longer rife in the senate. Dignities are 
given to one and restored to others. We owe to a single family 
all that we are. But I must finish this letter, for fear lest 
my speech, not being equal to your clemency, may appear tire- 
some to your modesty. The happiness which the certainty of 
good service assures will serve as your recompense. I do not 
believe that the words of anyone whatsoever could acknowledge 
so great benefit. You know better than anyone else that a 
good conscience is the only recompense worthy of those who 
accord such favors. I dare, however, add yet one thing: do 
not cease to love in the person of Flavianus your own good 
offices. 



CHAPTER IV 

The Donatist Situation at the Fall of Stilicho 

Althouh Stilicho had attempted to re-establish his 
policy of toleration for the African situation following the 
revolt of Gildo, this had but little effect upon the continu- 
ance of the struggle. The very fact that pagans and Dona- 
tists were no longer protected by the governor through the 
troops of the state, since these forces had been turned over 
to the orthodox, resulted in the decline in the power of the 
former parties and a rise in that of the latter. The ortho- 
dox, it is true, did not gain governmental support for the 
suppression of their enemies till 405, and were forced to 
rely on a campaign of pacific propaganda and persuasion. 
Yet these were powerful forces when wielded by such lead- 
ers as Aurelius and Augustine. 

Augustine was especially active. He wrote to the in- 
habitants of Tubursi to point out their errors, 1 and he 
sought a conference (398) with Fortunius, their bishop, 3 
and this time did not make the request with the same 
humble tone that he had formerly assumed in trying to 
gain a debate with Proculian. 3 He is careful to explain 
that he takes the initiative in the matter solely because of 
the deference due to age, even though it be possible to 
insist on Fortunius' coming to him. Nor did this bishop 
disdain a conference. It took place and the whole tone of 

1 Aug., Ep., 43- 2 Aug., Ep., 44. 

3 Supra, p. 95. 

109 



1 10 POLITICS AND RELIGION 

Fortunius' remarks show that the Donatists were beginning 
to fear the orthodox. Fortunius speaks often of a threat- 
ened persecution. One of the principal endeavors of Au- 
gustine was to show him that this was a groundless sus- 
picion. Augustine's activity was tireless. He sought next 
a discussion with Crispinus, Donatist bishop of Calama, 
and also worked with private individuals. 1 He tried to 
convert his cousin, Severinus ; 2 stimulated the zeal of his 
fellow Catholics, 3 and, as we have shown above, 4 he worked 
with the Roman senators urging upon them the conversion 
of the people upon their African estates. According to the 
other party he worked with more zeal than discretion for 
he and the church were even accused of urging those same 
corrupt practices in the gaining of converts 5 that they 
attributed to their enemies. Augustine, however, states 
that his aim was to make the reconciliation of the two 
parties as simple a matter as possible; showing the Dona- 
tists that their only fault was separation, their only crime 
rebaptizing. If the orthodox were conscious of an in- 
crease in their power, and there were cases in which they 
took advantage of the temporal aids granted in the general 
laws against heretics, 6 Augustine states that this was only 
for self-defence, to repress violence or to gain freedom. 7 
The Donatists on their part seem to have assumed a less 
uncompromising attitude. The year after Fortunius ac- 
cepted Augustine's offer of a conference, Honoratus, an- 
other of their bishops, took the initiative and asked Augus- 
tine for a discussion, but he requested that the matter be 

1 Aug., Epp., si, 56, 57- 2 Aug., Ep., 52. 

*Ibid., 34, 35, 53, 58, 61, 69, 85. 
4 Supra, p. 105; Aug., Ep., 58. 

6 Aug., Ep., 66. 6 Aug., Ep., 66. 

7 Aug., Epp., 51, 66, 1; 88, 7; 105, 2-4. Contr. Litt. Pet., ii, 184 Contr. 
Cresc, Hi, 47-51 ; Possid, Vita Aug., 14. 



THE DONA TIST SITU A TION i r L 

carried on by letter; in order to avoid the turmoil of a 
public disputation. 1 In his reply to Honoratus, Augustine 
took pains very carefully to set forth his arguments against 
the Donatists. It had been the policy of the Donatists to 
ignore their opponents: their altered political position and 
the zeal of the orthodox now at last forced them to respond 
to the attacks of their enemies. 

Petilian, bishop of Citra, undertook to combat Augus- 
tine's arguments. His letters were immediately refuted 
by Augustine. 2 Petilian responded with another letter in 
which he attacked Augustine personally, saying that he 
really remained a Manichaean, 3 and that Megalius of Cal- 
ama had not wished to consecrate him as bishop because of 
his sins. He entered a plea for religious toleration and 
tried to show that religious persecutions had been con- 
demned by God. 4 This did not conflict with the attitude 
of Augustine, he still continued to be an advocate of con- 
version by peaceable means, though the church was using 
the force of the laws. Augustine writes : " It is not of man 
that we would make you afraid," and he would not even 
have the fines inflicted which the law allowed. 

The Church Councils also show the conciliatory spirit 
which we have noted in Augustine's controversies. They 
not only made advances to the Donatists, they even proposed 
the terms upon which reconciliation would be accepted, even 
granting concession which had been denied by a Roman 
council. The fifth Council of Carthage, 5 of June, 401, pro- 
vided that sons of Donatists might be raised to clerical posi- 
tions on entering the church. The sixth Council of Car- 

1 Aug., Ep., 49. 2 Aug., Contr. Litt. Pet., Hi, 16. 

3 Aug., Contr. Litt. Pet., iii, 3, 11 et seq. 

4 Ibid., ii, 40-46. 

5 Hefele, op. cit., ii, 1; 126 et seq.; Harduin, op. cit., i, 895. 



112 POLITICS AND RELIGION 

thage, 1 which was held on the thirteenth of September of 
the same year, passed the following canons on this subject: 
(Can. 66) One should act discretely with the Donatists, but 
(Can. 6y) it would be necessary to engage the secular judges 
to write official reports on the way to act with the Maxi- 
mianists. (Can. 68) The Donatist clerics who entered the 
church might retain their offices, if it were necessary for the 
establishment of the peace of the church, although a council 
from overseas had borne on this point a more severe de- 
cision. (Can. 69) Deputies were to be sent to the Dona- 
tists to engage them to re-enter the church. They were to 
be informed that they would be served in regard to their 
sectarians, i. e., the Maximianists, by the procedure with 
which they reproach the Catholic church of serving them. 
(Can. 72) One should not hesitate to baptize infants if it 
be not positive that they had already been baptized. (Can. 
75) The emperor should be asked to name, with the co- 
operation of the bishops, defensores for the church. 

Some Donatist bishops took advantage of the Catholic 
offers. The council of Mileve, of the twenty-seventh of 
August, 402, shows that Maximius, a Donatist bishop, re- 
turned to the Catholic party. 2 

The ^eighth Council of Carthage, of the twenty-fifth of 
August, 5 403 continued the same broad policy. It adopted 
canons that: (Can. 91) Each bishop ought in his episcopal 
city, either himself or in conjunction with his colleagues, 
of the neighborhood, to enter into relations with the leaders 
of the Donatists to engage them, through the intermediaries 
of judges and civil magistrates, to send deputies on their 

1 Hefele, op. cit., ii, 1, 126 et seq.; Harduin, op. cit., i, 899 et seq. 

2 Hefele, op. cit., ii, 1, 134; Harduin, op. cit., i, 911, can. 88. 
'Hefele, op. cit., ii, 1, 155; Mansi, op. cit., iii, 787, 1155; Harduin, 

op. cit., i, 914. 



THE DONATIST SITUATION H 3 

part, having in view a general conference or colloquy on 
the religious questions. The letters to be written on this 
occasion to the civil judges shall be signed in the name of 
all by the Bishop of Carthage. (Can. 92) The letter des- 
tined for the Donatists was submitted by Archbishop Aure- 
lian ; it may be summed up as follows : The Donatists and 
the Catholics should each choose deputies to the council; 
they should discuss the points in dispute in order to arrive 
as soon as possible at eternal fraternity. 

Nothing came of these attempts at reconciliation, how- 
ever. The Proconsul sent out the edict advising the con- 
ferences, 1 but there was no general conference for all ad- 
vances were repulsed. Primianus, the Donatist bishop of 
Carthage and head of the party, refused to confer with 
Aurelius. 2 Moreover he sent a personal circular letter to 
each of his bishops in explanation of this attitude. 3 A Dona- 
tist Council decided to refuse the conference. 4 The activi- 
ties of the Catholics had only served to stir up their oppo- 
nents. As all the overtures of the Catholic Church for a 
peaceful reconciliation were repulsed, a more stringent 
policy became necessary. 

These attempts at conciliation were rendered largely 
fruitless through the action of the Circumcelliones, and, we 
may surmise, fanatics on both sides. Augustine throws 
the blame upon the Circumcelliones, who, he charges, not 
only bribed but murdered and laid waste the country. 5 

1 Coll. Carth., iii, 174; Aug., Breviculus Collationis cum Donatistis, iii, 
4, 4; 8, 11; Ad Don. post. Coll., i, i, 16, 20; 31, 53; Serin ii in Ps., 36, 
18; Contr. Cresc., iv, 47, 57; Ep., 88, 7. 

2 Aug., Brev. Coll., iii, 4, 4; 8, 11 ; Contr. Cresc, iv, 47, 57; Ad Don. 
post. Collat., i, 1, 16, 20; 31, 53. 

3 Aug., Serm., ii, in Ps. 36, 18. 

4 Aug., Epp., 76, 4; 88, 7, 8; Contr. Cresc, iii, 45, 49; 46, 50. 

5 Aug., Epp., 43, 185 ; Contr. Cresc., iii, 43 ; Contr. Litt. Pet., ii, 184. 



H4 



POLITICS AND RELIGION 



Then, in February, 400, the orthodox secured a rescript 
which took from the Donatists privileges formerly granted 
them by Julian. This is the first definite step in the process 
of their legal suppression. 1 

We will that an edict be posted in the most frequented places, 
whereby the rescript which the Donatists are said to have 
obtained from Julian when he was ruling, shall be produced 
and amendments be added in which a provision of this kind has 
been inserted, whereby all may know both the firm stability of 
the Catholic faith and the hopelessness of the Donatists who 
are colored with falsehood. 

The Circumcelliones commanded by schismatic clerics be- 
came especially active, attacking bishops, clerics, and mis- 
sionaries. 2 Restitutus was outraged; 3 Servius of Tubursi 
and his father were maltreated. 4 Possidius, Bishop of 
Calama, was surprised on the road. He succeeded in es- 
caping to a neighboring building, but it was set on fire 
and he would have been burned alive had it not been for 
timely intervention. 5 Crispinus, the Donatist bishop, re- 
fused to punish priests for this act, so Possidius brought 
complaint before the proconsul, who inflicted upon Crispi- 
nus a fine of ten pounds of gold. This sentence was con- 
firmed after an appeal to the emperor. Yet later we find 

1 Cod. Theod., xvi, 5, 37. " Rescriptum, quod Donatistae a juliano 
tunc principe impetrasse dicuntur, proposito programmate celeberrimis 
in locis volumus anteferri et gesta, quibus est huiuscemodi allegatio 
inserta, subnecti, quo omnibus innotescat et Catholicae confidentiae 
stabilita constantia et Donatistarum desperatio fucata perfidia." 

2 Possid., op. cit., 13, 14; Aug., Epp., 88, 6; 185, 4, 18; Contr. Cresc, 
Hi, 46, 50 ; 45, 49 ; 48, 53- 

3 Aug., Contr. Cresc, iii, 48, 53 ; Ep., 88, 6. 

4 Aug., Contr. Cresc, iii, 43, 47. 

5 Possid., Vit., 14 ; Aug., Ep., 105, 2, 4 ; Contr. Cresc, iii, 46, 50. 



THE DONATIST SITUATION II5 

the Catholic bishops, among whom were Augustine and 
Possidius, addressing Honorius in order to obtain a re- 
mission of the fine. 1 Maximian, Catholic bishop of Bagai, 
was also severely treated. 2 He fled to the emperor's court 
with his complaints only to find there numbers of his col- 
leagues with similar grievances. 3 ' According to Augus- 
tine, no tongue, no pen, could describe all the violence of 
the Donatists against the Catholics. 4 So the ninth Council 
of Carthage, of the sixteenth of June, 404, 5 decided to make 
known to the emperors through delegates, Theasius and 
Evodius, that the Donatists had disdained their advances 
of 403, that they had not appointed delegates as requested 
and that they were committing all sorts of brutalities 
against the bishops, clerics and churches of the Catholics. 
The envoys were to seek the emperor's aid for the church 
and its servants, and to ask him to apply to the Donatists 
the general laws of Theodosius against heretics and to have 
the governors in Africa so instructed. Augustine states 
that the intention was to have this law applied only in 
those districts where the Catholic church was suffering 
violence from Donatists. Awaiting the decision of the 
emperors, they addressed the civil magistrates, asking them 
to restore order and to protect Catholics, until the arrival 
of the imperial ordinances. Augustine, who was a member 
of the minority, was not in favor of the policy adopted. 
He was still for restoring unity by a peaceful propa- 
ganda. 6 The petition of the deputation was granted. No 

1 Aug., Ep., 88, 7; 105, 2, 4; Contr. Cresc, iii, 47, 51; Poss., Vit., 14. 

2 Aug., Contr. Cresc. iii, 43 ; Ep. 185, 26, 26, 27. 

3 Aug., Epp., 88, 7 ; 185, 7 ; Contr. Cresc, iii, 43, 47 ; 45, 49. 

* Aug., Epp., 86, 6 ; 105, 3 ; 185, 18 ; Contr. Cresc, iii, 42, 44. 

5 Codex Can. Ec Af. Can., 93; Hefele, op. cit., ii, 1, 155; Harduin. 
op. cit., i, 915. 

6 Aug., Ep., 93, 17; cf. Ep., 23, 7; Ret., ii, 5. 



Il6 POLITICS AND RELIGION 

emperor could tolerate the strife that had grown up fol- 
lowing the revolt of Gildo. And so, even in the time of the 
tolerant Stilicho, there was secured from Honorius a series 
of drastic laws against the Donatists as heretics. 
One of February the twelfth, 405, reads : * 

. . . Let there be one Catholic worship, one salvation, and 
let the equal and self -congruent holiness of the trinity be 
sought. And should anyone dare to take part in the things 
interdicted and illicit, he shall not escape the toils of the in- 
numerable constitutions formerly passed and the law lately 
laid down by our clemency. And shall perchance seditious 
tumults arise, let him not doubt that instigations to more ser- 
ious disturbances will be suppressed. 

Another of the same date 2 reads : 

By the severity of this command, lest the polluted sect of the 
Donatists or Montanists violate divine grace by rebaptism, we 
abolish all occasion for deception, decreeing that assured pun- 
ishment shall be meted out to men of this kind, and that these 
who have offended against the Catholic religion, by perverted 
dogma, shall undergo the avenging judgments of the law. 
Therefore we command that if hereafter any shall be found to 

1 Cod, Theod., xvi, 5, 38. "... Una sit catholica veneratio, una 
salus sit, trinitatis par sibique congruens sanctitas expetatur. Quod 
si quis audeat interdictis sese inlicitisque miscere et praeteritorum 
innumerabilium constitutorum et legis nuper a mansuetudine nostra 
prolatae laqueos non evadat et si turbae forte convenerint seditionis, 
concitatos aculeos acrioris conmotionis non dubitet exserendos." 

2 Ibid., xvi, 6, 5. " Ne divinam gratiam sub repitito baptismate 
polluta Donatistarum vel Montanistarum secta violaret, fallendi 
occasionem severitate huius praeceptionis abolemus statuentes, ut 
certa huiusmodi homines poena sequatur legisque censuram experi- 
antur ultricem, qui in Catholicam religionem perverso dogmate commi- 
sissent. Jubemus igitur, ut, si quis posthac fuerit rebaptizare detectus, 
judici qui provinciae praesidet offeratur, ut facultatum omnium publi- 
cation multatus inopiae poenam expendat, etc." 



THE DONA T1ST SITU A TION i j y 

rebaptize, he shall be brought before the presiding judge of 
the province, to pay the penalty of impoverishment through 
the confiscation of all of his goods. 

A third law of the same date 1 reads : 

1 Cod. Theod., xvi, 6, 4. Hadriano, Pr. P. "Adversaries catholicae 
fidei exstirpare huius decreti auctoritate prospeximus. Ideoque inter- 
cidendam specialiter earn sectam nova constitutione censuimus, quae, 
ne haeresis vocaretur, appellationem schismatis praeferebat. In tantum 
enim sceleris progressi dicuntur hi, quos Donatisias vocant, ut baptisma 
sacrosanctum mysteriis recalcatis temeritate noxia iterarint et homines 
semel, ut traditum est, munere divinitatis ablutos, contagione profanae 
repetitionis infecerint. Ita contigit, ut haeresis ex schismate nasceretur. 
Inde male credulas mentes ad spem secundae indulgentiae blandus 
error invitat; facile est enim persuadere peccantibus, veniam prius 
praestitam denuo posse praestari ; quae, si concedi iterum eodem modo 
potest, non intellegimus, cur tertio denegetur. Hi vero et servos vel 
homines juri proprio subditos iterati baptismatis polluunt sacrilegio. 
Quare hac lege sancimus, ut quisquis post haec fuerit rebaptizasse 
detectus, judici qui provinciae praesidet offer at ui\ ut facultatum 
omnium publicatione multatus inopiae poenam, qua in perpetuum affi- 
ciatur expendat, ita ut filiis eorum, si a paternae societatis pravitate 
dissentiunt, ea quae fuerint paterna, non pereant, ut, si ipsos forsitan 
scaevitas paternae depravationis implicuit ac reverti ad catholicarn 
religionem malunt, adipiscendorum his bonorum copia non negetur. 1. 
Ea praeterea loca seu praedia, quae feralibus sacrilegiis deinceps consti- 
terit praebuisse secretum, fisci viribus applicen.tur, si tamen dominus 
aut domina aut praesens forte fuisse aut consensum praestitisse pro- 
detur ; quos quidem justa etiam per sententiam notabit infamia. Si 
vero his nesciis per conductorem procuratoremve eorum in domo agi- 
tatum huiusmodi facinus comprobatur, praejudicio a praediorum publi- 
catione suspenso inpliciti sceleris auctores cohercitos plumbo exsilium 
in quo omni vitae suae tempore afficiantur, accipiet. 2. Ac ne forsitan 
sit liberum conscientiam piacularis flagitii perpetrati intra domesticos 
parietes silentio celare, servis, si qui forsitan ad rebaptizandum cogen- 
tur, refugiendi ad ecclesiam catholicarn sit facultas, ut eius praesidio 
adversus huius criminis et societatis auctores attributae libertatis prae- 
sidio defendantur, liceatque his sub hac conditione fidem tueri, quam 
extorquere ab invitis domini temptaverint ; nee assertores dogmatis 
catholici ea, qua ceteros, qui in potestate sunt positi, oportet ad facinus 
lege constringi, et maxime convenit, omnes homines sine ullo discri- 
mine conditionis aut status infusae caelitus sanctitatis esse custodes. 
3. Sciant ii vero, qui ex supra dictis sectis iterare baptisma non 



1 1 8 POLITICS, AND RELIGION 

We purpose by the authority of this decree to extirpate the ad- 
versaries of the Catholic faith, and so we decree by a new con- 
stitution, that especially this sect, which in order not to be 
called a heresy bears the title of a schism, ought to be de- 
stroyed. For into so great crime those who are called Dona- 
tists are said to have advanced that they repeat with noxious 
boldness the sacred baptism, repeating the mysteries and by the 
contagion of sacrilegious repetition they poison men, absolved 
once for all by the gift of divine grace, as is the custom. Thus 
it happens that a heresy is born from schism. Thence, un- 
fortunately bland error entices credulous minds into the hope 
of a second indulgence; for it is easy to persuade sinners that 
the pardon once granted may again be renewed. If this may 
in this manner be conceded a second time, we do not know 
why it should be denied a third. Indeed, they pollute both 
servants and free men who undergo the sacrilege of a second 
baptism. Wherefore by this law we decree that anyone here- 
after found to have rebaptized shall be brought before the 
provincial judge, that having been punished by the confiscation 
of all of his goods he may suffer the punishment of want for 
all time; providing, however, that the property of the father 
shall not be lost to the sons if they do not hold to the parental 
depravity, and providing, also, that if perchance they have been 
attached thereto, but prefer to return to the Catholic ' religion, 
they shall not be denied the means of obtaining the property. 
i. Moreover, those places or estates that shall have been found 

timuerint aut qui consentiendo hoc facinus propria ruius societatis 
permixticne damnaverint, non solum testandi sibi, verum adipiscendi 
aliquid sub specie donationis vel agitandorum contractuum in per- 
petuum copiam denegatam, nisi pravae mentis errorem, revertendo ad 
veram fidem consilii emendatione correxerint. 4. Illos quoque par 
nihilo minus poena constringat, si qui memoratorum interdictis coetibus 
seu ministeriis praebuerint coniventiam, ita ut moderatores provinci- 
arum si in contemptum sanctionis huisce consensum putaverint com- 
modandum, sciant se viginti libras auri esse multandos officia etiam sua 
simili condemnatione subjuganda. Principales vel defensores civitatum, 
nisi id quod praecipimus fuerint exsecuti, vel his praesentibus ecclesiae 
catholicae vis fuerit illata, eadem multa se noverint attinendos." 



THE DONATIST SITUATION 



119 



to have been given over secretly to deadly sacrileges, shall be 
confiscated; yet only providing that the master or mistress 
shall be proven to have been present or to have given his or 
her consent; in which case a just infamy shall brand them 
through judicial sentence. But if a crime of this sort shall 
be proven to have been committed in their home without their 
knowledge by their tenant or manager, although the judgment 
of confiscation shall be suspended, the authors of the crime 
shall receive correction by the leaded scourge and perpetual 
banishment. 2. And that it may not be possible to conceal the 
knowledge of shameful rites carried on within the walls of the 
home, the faculty of taking refuge in the Catholic Church is 
granted to those slaves who are perchance forced to be re- 
baptized, that under its protection by the grant to them of 
freedom they may be defended against the authors of this 
crime and their associates; and thus preserve the faith which 
the masters have tried to extort from them against their will. 
It is not fitting that the upholders of Catholic dogma should be 
constrained to a misdeed by the law by which others placed in 
power should be constrained. All men, without discrimination 
as to condition or rank, should be guardians of the sanctity 
which flows from heaven. 3. Let those of the above sects, 
however, who have not feared to rebaptize, or who, by as- 
senting to this crime, condemn themselves to be considered as 
of this society, know that they are forever deprived of the 
right of testament, or of receiving anything under the form of 
a donation, or of making contracts except they amend the error 
of their depraved mind by returning to the true faith, correct- 
ing their purpose. 4. Punished, also, equally severely shall 
those be who shall have connived at the interdicted gather- 
ings and services of those mentioned above. The governors 
of the province shall know, if in contempt of this decree they 
shall have thought that consent was to be made, that they 
are to be fined twenty pounds of gold, their official staff 
suffering a like condemnation; let the leaders and defensors 
of the city know that, unless this which we command shall 
have been carried out, or if in their presence force shall 



120 POLITICS AND RELIGION 

have been used against the Catholic Church, they are subject 
to the same penalty. 1 

By an edict of the fifth of March, 405, 2 the emperor 
ordered the promulgation of the edict of Unity in the 
other provinces. " We will that the edict of unity which 
our clemency had decreed for the African provinces be pro- 
mulgated through the other provinces, that all may know 
that the one true Catholic belief in a single omnipotent 
God, which true belief acknowledges, must be held by 
all." These laws were what the orthodox had been de- 
manding and working for. The Donatists were now 
legally heretics. A Donatist chronicle tells us that the per- 
secution commenced on June the twenty-sixth. 3 The tenth 
council of Carthage, of the twenty-third of August, 
sent a synodal letter and a deputation to the emperor to 
thank him for having established unity at Carthage. They 
also decided to ask the civil judges to use their influence in 
the other provinces as at Carthage for the reconciliation of 
the Donatists with the church. 4 And on the eighth of De- 
cember, 405, the emperor ordered the law to be enforced 
in all places by the following edict. 5 " We decree that the 
heretics of the Donatist superstition, no matter of what 
Dlace or whether they confess or be convicted in accordance 

1 Cf. also the law of the same date, Cod. Theod., xvi, 6, 3. " Re- 
baptizantium non patimur devios errores, etc." 

2 Ibid., xvi, 11, 2. "Edictum quod de imitate per Africanas regiones 
dementia nostra direxit, per diversa proponi volumus, ut omnibus 
innotescat dei omnipotentis unam et veram fidem catholicam, quam recta 
credulitas confitetur, esse retinendam." 

8 Liber Genealogus, G. 627 ; Mommsen, Chronica Minora, 1, p. 196. 

* Codex Can. Ecc. Af., 94; Harduin, i, 918-919; Hefele, ii, 1, 156. 

5 Cod. Theod., xvi, 5, 39. " Donatistae superstitionis haereticos quo- 
cunque loci vel fatentes vel convictos legis tenore servato poenam 
debitam absque dilatione persolvere dccernimus." 



THE DON AT I ST SITUATION I2 i 

with the law shall without delay pay the penalty due." Au- 
gustine tells us that many were converted daily and were 
grateful that they were freed from the heresy. 1 This state- 
ment is open to question, for the process of conversion was 
often the occasion for violence. Many were fined and ex- 
iled, churches were confiscated as well as private goods, and 
legal violence was the occasion for private vengeance, 2 Yet 
the Donatists were not subdued; Primianus stayed at his 
post in Carthage ; 3 at Hippo they lost their churches yet 
their bishops and clerics and the Circumcelliones remained ; 4 
in Numidia the persecuted were in sufficient numbers to take 
vengeance upon their persecutors and the audacity of the 
Circumcelliones increased. 5 At Constantina the rival 
bishops mutually accused each other of violence. 6 Yet 
some headway was made by the orthodox. The eleventh 
Council of Carthage, on the thirteenth of June, 407, pro- 
vided for the reorganization which became necessary with 
the restoration of Donatist churches, bishops and congrega- 
tions. 7 Can. 99: 

Communities which on quitting the Donatists have bishops, 
may keep them with no other authorization from a council, but 
if at the death of these bishops they do not wish to have their 
own bishop, but prefer to belong to the diocese of some other 
bishop, they shall be allowed to do so. Also it is suggested 
that whatever bishop shall have converted any community be- 
fore the publication of the edict of union of the emperor, these 

1 Aug., Epp., 185, 7; 93, 5, 16; Epp., 93, 1, 2; 89, 8; Coll. Carth., 1, 
129. 

2 Aug., Epp., 88, 11; 89, 2; 93, 12, 50; 93, 3, 10. 

3 Coll. Carth., L 14, 104. 

4 Aug., Epp., 88, 8, 12; 86; 105, 2, 3; 106-108; in, 1; Retract, ii, 53, 1. 

5 Aug., Epp., 88, 1, 8; 108, 5, 14; 6, 18; in, 1; Contr. Cresc, iii, 43, 47. 

6 Coll. Carth., i, 139, 201. 

T Harduin, op. cit., i, 922 ; Hefele, op. cii., ii, 1, 157. 



122 POLITICS AND RELIGION 

same ought to retain them; but after the publication of the 
edict, it is fit that Catholic bishops of the neighborhood to 
whom they belonged of right while they were still heretical 
shall claim for themselves all churches, dioceses and goods of 
the converted or non-converted. 

Yet the continued offences of the Donatists led the coun- 
cil to send deputies to the emperor asking for new meas- 
ures of repression. 1 

Laws intended directly to apply to the African situation 
were issued. They, however, in no wise show the severity 
towards the Donatist party that the African bishops would 
desire. Rather they exhibit the continued tolerance of 
Stilicho. The law of the fifteenth of November, 40J? 
shows indulgence for restored heretics but urges the ap- 
plication of the law against the uncompromising. 

1 Cod. Can. Ecc. Af. Can., gg, 106, 117; Harduin, op. cit., i, 919. 

2 Cod. Theod., xvi, 5, 41. " Porphyrio Proconsuli Africae. Licet 
crimina soleat poena purgare, nos tamen pravas hominum voluntates 
admonitione poenitentiae volumus emendare. Quicumque igitur haereti- 
corum, sive Donatistae sint sive Manichaei vel cuiuscumque alterius 
pravae opinionis ac sectae profanis ritibus aggregate, catholicam fidem 
et ritum, quern per omnes homines cupimus observari, simplici confes- 
sione susceperint, licet adeo inveteratum malum longa ac diuturna 
meditatione nutriverint, ut etiam legibus ante latis videantur obnoxii, 
tamen hos statim ut fuerint Deum simplici religione confessi, ab omni 
noxa absolvendos esse censemus, ut ad omnem reatum, seu ante con- 
tractus est seu postea quod nolumus contrahitur, etiamsi maxime reos 
poena videatur urgere, sufficiat ad abolitionem, errorem proprio damna- 
visse judicio et Dei omnipotentis nomen, inter ipsa quoque pericula 
requisitum fuisse complexum, quia nusquam debet in miseriis invo- 
catum religionis deesse subsidium. Ut igitur priores quas statuimus 
leges in excidium sacrilegarum mentium omni exsecutionis urgueri jube- 
mus effectu, ita hos, qui simplicis fidem religionis licet sera confessione, 
maluerint, censimus datis legibus non teneri. Quae ideo sanximus, quo 
universi cognoscant nee profanis hominum studiis deesse vindictam et 
ad rectum redundare cultum, legum quoque adesse suffragium." 



THE DON ATI ST SITUATION ^3 

Notwithstanding that crimes are ordinarily purged by penalty, 
nevertheless we wish to correct the depraved will of man by 
the admonition of penitence. Therefore, whatever heretic, be 
he Donatist, Manichaean, or of whatever depraved opinion or 
sect attached to profane rites, shall receive by simple confession 
the Catholic faith and ceremony, which we desire shall be ob- 
served by all men, even though he may have long cherished 
evil by prolonged and daily meditations, so much as to appear 
punishable according to the laws previously given, yet despite 
all this, just as soon as he shall have confessed God in single- 
ness of heart, we decree him absolved from all crime. For all 
guilt, no matter whether it was committed before or after we 
forbade it, and even though it would seem most urgently to 
demand punishment, let it suffice for its abolition that the 
guilty condemn their error in their own judgment, and em- 
brace the name of Almighty God, even though sought in 
this great peril, for the aid of religion invoked in distress ought 
never to fail. So, just as we command that the laws formerly 
decreed for curbing sacrilegious spirits be rigidly enforced, 
so we decree that those who prefer the faith of straightforward 
religion, even if it be by a somewhat tardy confession, shall 
not be bound by the laws laid down. We decree this that all 
may know that, punishment is not wanting for the profane 
desires of men, and that there is ample support in the laws 
for the true worship. 

This is the same spirit as is expressed in the constitution 
of the twenty-fifth of November, 407, preserved in the 
Sirmond text, which reads : 

The solicitude of religious men, priests of God, in observing 
crimes, assiduity in advising and authority in teaching, ought 
alone to correct the profane spirits of the heretics and the 
superstition of the pagans. Neither have tenets of our laws 
been lacking, which should bring back those who stray to the 
cult of the omnipotent God by the imminent terror of punish- 
ment, and which should train the ignorant also in divine ser- 



124 POLITICS AND RELIGION 

vice. But truly this same force of evil, mixing at the same 
time matters human and divine, now as well as it will in the 
future, ruins many, deceived by the depraved persuasions, and 
destroys for God and for us the lives of the unfortunate, which 
it gives up to the laws here and forces to bear judgment here- 
after. Forced to this by the pertinacity of the Donatists and 
the fury of the pagans, which the culpable inactivity of the 
judges, the connivance of their officials and the contempt of 
law by the city councils, we feel that it is necessary to reit- 
erate our former commands. Wherefore, we announce that 
all that had been decreed by us under the authority of gen- 
eral laws against the Donatists, who also are called Montenses, 
the Manichaeans or Priscillianists, or against the pagans, 
shall not only be confirmed, but also carried into full and ef- 
fective execution, so that the buildings also of these sects, as 
well as of the Caelicolae, who have meetings of I know not 
what new dogma, shall be adjudged to the churches. The 
penalty, established by law, ought to hold those as convicted 
who shall have confessed themselves to be Donatists or who 
shall have avoided the communion of the Catholic priests under 
cover of a sort of left-handed religion, however much they 
pretend that they are Christians. Now yearly grants for the 
temples are to be stopped, and shall be used to help to bear 
the expenses of the most devoted army. Statues, if any are 
still standing in the temples or sanctuaries, and have received, 
or are receiving, any rites of paganism, shall be taken from 
their places, as we know this to have been already very often 
decreed. Let the buildings of those temples, which are in the 
cities or towns, or outside the towns, be confiscated to the public 
use. Altars in all places are to be destroyed and all tem- 
ples in our domains are to be turned over to a suitable use; 
masters shall be forced to destroy them. Nor is it at all 
lawful in more unholy places, in honor of sacrilegious rites, to 
have a feast or to carry out any sort of solemnity. We place 
the right of prohibiting these acts in the hands of the bishops 
of the localities. We have granted the powers of execution to 
the agentes in rebus, Maximus, Julianus and Eutychus, to 



THE DON AT I ST SITUATION 



125 



carry out whatever has been decreed by general laws against 
the Donatists, Manichaeans and heretics of this sort, or pagans. 
They are to know, however, that the regular form of law is to 
be preserved in all cases, that all that may appear to have been 
done contrary to the prohibition shall immediately be turned 
over to the judges for judgment according to the laws. These 
judges indeed shall be subject to the penalty of a fine long 
established of twenty pounds of gold (the same being placed 
against their officials and city councils) if this which we have 
decreed shall have been neglected through their dissimulation. 
. . . This provision for controlling the manners and religion 
of men your sublimity shall call to the attention of the rulers 
of the provinces and command to be observed with suitable 
force for each person. 1 

1 Conslitutiones Sirmondianae, 12 ( Nov. 25, 407). " Profanos haere- 
ticorum spiritus superstitionemque gentilium vel sola quidem reli- 
giosorum virorum sacerdotum dei in observendis sollicitudo criminibus, 
sedulitas in monendo, auctoritas in docendo emandare debuerat. Nee 
nostrarum tamen legum scita cessarunt, quae in dei omnipotentis cultum 
poenae etiam terrore proposito reducerent deviantes ; ignaros quoque 
in ministeria divina formarent. Sed nimirum ipsa vis mali humana 
pariter ac divina permiscens deceptos plerosque per suasionibus pravis 
tarn in praesens quam in futurum inpellit exitium et deo simul ac 
nobis perdit infelicium vitas quas et hie legibus dedit et illic cogit 
ferre judicium. Conpulsi igitur Donatistarum pertinacia, furore gen- 
tilium, quae quidem mala desidia judicum, coniventia officiorum, or- 
dinum contemptus accendit, nesessarium putamus iterare quae jussimus. 
Quapropter omnia quae in Donatistas qui et Montenses vocantur, Mani- 
chaeos sive Priscillianistas vel in gentiles a nobis generalium legum 
auctoritate decreta sunt, non solum manere decernimus, verum in 
exsecutionem plenissimam eftectumque deduci, ita ut aedificia quoque 
vel horum vel Caelicolarum etiam qui nescio cuius dogmatis novi con- 
ventus habent, ecclesiis vindicentur. Poena vero lege proposita velut 
convictos tenere debebit eos, qui Donatistas se confessi fuerint vel 
Catholicorum sacerdotum scaevae religionis obtentu communionem 
refugerint, quamvis Christianos esse se simulent. Jam vero templorum 
detrahentur annonae et rem annonariam juvent expensis devotissi- 
morum militum profuturae. Simulacra, si qua etiam nunc in templis 
fanisque consistunt et quae aliquem ritum vel acceperunt vel accipiunt 
paganorum, suis sedibus revellantur, cum hoc repetita sciamus saepius 



126 POLITICS AND RELIGION 

Another law of November the fifteenth x reads : 

By these instructions we declare that the privileges which the 
authority of law has granted to the churches and clerics shall 
remain sacred and inviolate. And we grant to them this extra- 
ordinary and singular right, that all that has been specially 
granted by us to the church alone shall be made known to the 
judges and executed, not by the priests, but by advocates of 
their own choice. But the priests of the province shall be on 
their guard lest, under the excuse of privilege, to their disad- 
vantage, some inconvenience be inflicted upon them. 

These measures are the last tolerant acts of Stilicho's 

sanctione decretum. Aedificia ipsa templorum quae in civitatibus vel 
oppidis vel extra oppida sunt, ad usum publicum vindicentur. Aerae 
locis omnibus destruantur omniaque templa in possessionibus nostris 
ad usus adcommodos transferantur, domini destruere cogantur. Non 
liceat omnino in honorem sacrilegi ritus- funestioribus locis exercere 
convivia vel quicquam sollemnitatis agitare. Episcopis quoque loco- 
rum haec ipsa prohibendi ecclesiasticae manus tribuimus facultatem. 
Nam et agentum in rebus executionem Maximi, Juliani, Eutachi, ut ea, 
quae generalibus legibus contra Donatistas, Manichaeos, adque huiusce- 
modi haereticos vel gentiles statuta sunt, impleantur, indulsimus. Qui 
tamen scient in omnibus modum statutorum esse servandum, ut ea, 
quae contra vetitum videntur esse commissa mox judicious juxta vim 
legum deferant vindicanda. Quos quidem viginti librarum auri poena 
statutae dudum multae constringet, pari multa officiis ordinibusque pro- 
posita, si haec quae statuimus eorum fuerint dissimulatione neglecta. 
. . . Quod ad continendos hominum mores religionemque provisum et 
ad rectores provinciarum sublimis magnificentia tua faciet pervenire 
et digno per omnes jubebit vigor e servari." 

1 Cod. Thecd., xvi, 2, 38. " Porphyrio Proconsuli Africae. Privilegia 
quae ecclesiis et clericis legum decrevit auctoritas, hac quoque prae- 
ceptione sancta et inviolata permanere decernimus. Atque hoc ipsis 
praecipuum ac singulare deferimus, ut, quaecumque de nobis ad ec- 
clesiam tantum pertinentia, specialiter fuerint impetrata, non per 
coronatos, sed ab advocatis eorum arbitratu et judicibus innotescant et 
sortiantur effectum. Sacerdotes vero provinciae erunt solliciti, ne 
sub hac scilicet privilegii excusatione etiam contra eorum utilitatem 
aliquid his inferatur incommodum." 



THE DONATIST SITUATION 



127 



regime. The Chronicle of Hydatius certainly overstates the 
case when it says that in 405 unity was restored between 
Catholics and Donatists. Yet the fifth century opened with 
the civil powers turning to the active support of the or- 
thodox. 



CHAPTER V 

The Revolution of the Year 408: Catholic 
Supremacy 

The political power of the orthodox party was firmly es- 
tablished in Africa by the revolution of the year 408 which 
overthrew Stilicho and his tolerant policies. Indeed, the 
fall of that minister was accomplished by the leaders of 
the Christian party, 1 who took advantage of the trouble- 
some Germanic invasions in order to carry out their plans. 
The crisis of the invasions seemed at last to have arrived 
The hordes of Radagaisus were destroyed at Florence in 
405, it is true, but in the year 406 the Alani, Suevi, Van- 
dals and Burgundians invaded and devastated Gaul. 2 Oro- 
sius says that Stilicho invited them into the empire that he 
might make his pagan son, Eucherius, emperor; but his 
statement is unsupported and probably is an attempt on the 
part of a Christian authority to discredit one who had failed 
to meet the demands of a growing Christian fanaticism and 
to justify his murder. What is clear is that the Germans 
arrived at a time when Stilicho's tolerance succeeded in win- 
ning the opposition of both Christians and pagans. The 
difficulties of the hour seem to have called for more vigor- 
ous action one way or another — and there was really only 
one way left — if he was to win adequate and reliable sup- 
port. For he had to face not merely invasion but usurpa- 
tion as well, the revolt of allies and the question of the im- 
perial succession. Constantine seized the purple in Eng- 

1 Zos., op. cit., v, 32. 

2 Ibid., vi, 3; Orosius, op. cit., vii, 38. 

128 



THE REVOLUTION OF THE YEAR 408 I2 g 

land, Gaul and Spain ; 1 Alaric entered Italy, 2 demanding 
the subsidies due him; and in this crisis Arcadius, the 
emperor in the East, died, leaving Theodosius II, a child 
of eight as heir to the throne. 3 It was this question which 
proved fatal to the last statesmanlike figure in the Roman 
West. A dispute seems to have developed between Honor- 
ius and Stilicho as to which should go to Constantinople 
to look after the interests of the Western court. Taking 
advantage of this disagreement between emperor and min- 
ister, Stilicho's enemies led by Olympius, by spreading re- 
ports of purported treasonable plans on the part of Stilicho, 
succeeded in having the Vandals' supporters put to death, 
even in the presence of the emperor. Then Stilicho him- 
self they declared a traitor and public robber and his ar- 
rest was ordered. He was dragged from the asylum of the 
church to which he had fled and put to death on the charge 
of high treason on the twenty-third of August, 408. 4 His 
son suffered the same fate. 

The leader of the revolt was Olympius, an orthodox 
Christian and the personal friend and follower of Augus- 
tine. His triumph was a victory for the orthodox. 5 Al- 
though we have no means of knowing who had been his 
supporters in the revolt, from Augustine's subsequent con- 
duct we may well infer that Zosimus' statements to the 
effect that they were of the true faith is correct. Augus- 
tine was in close touch with Olympius and immediately 

1 Orosius, op. cit, vii, 40; Zos., op. cit., vi, 2; Soz., op. cit., ix, 11; 
Olympiodorus, Frag., 12. 

2 Zos., op. cit., v, 29; Soz., op. cit., ix, 4; Philostorgius, op. cit., xii, 2. 

3 Soc, op. cit., vi, 23; Soz., op. cit., ix, 1; Zos., op. cit., v, 31. 

4 Zos., op. cit., v, 29-34 ; Soz., op. cit., ix, 4 ; Phil., op. cit., xii, 3. 
5 Zos., op. cit., v, 32, 35. 



!30 POLITICS AND RELIGION 

sent him letters of congratulation and advice, pointing out 
certain political favors which Olympius should grant the 
church. 

The first of these letters reads : 

Olympius, My Lord greatly beloved, and my son worthy of 
honor and regard as a member of Christ, Augustine sends 
greeting. Whatever your rank may be in connection with 
the course of this world I have the greatest confidence in 
addressing you as my much beloved, true hearted Christian 
fellow servant, Olympius. For I know that this name in 
your esteem excels all other glorious and lofty titles. Re- 
ports have indeed reached me that you have obtained some 
promotion in worldly affairs, but no information confirming 
the truth of the rumor had come to me up to the time when 
this opportunity of writing to you occurred. Since, however, 
I know that you have learned from the Lord not to mind high 
things, but to condescend to those who are lightly esteemed 
by men, whatever the pinacle to which you have been raised, 
we take for granted, my lord greatly beloved, and son worthy 
of honor and regard as a member of Christ, that you will still 
welcome a letter from me, just as you were wont to do. And 
as for your worldly prosperity, I do not doubt that you will 
wisely use it for eternal gain; so that the greater the influ- 
ence which vou acquire in the commonwealth on this earth, 
the more will you devote yourself to the interests of the 
heavenly city to which you owe your birth in Christ. . . . 
And now, you are of the same kindly disposition that you 
were formerly, but possessed of greater influence, I do not 
despair of this being easily granted by the Lord's help, in 
consideration of your claim on the emperor. Now even if 
you were to ask the gift of this property in your own name, 
and present it to the church of which I have spoken, who 
would find fault with your request? Nay, who would not 
commend it, as dictated not by personal covetousness, but by 
Christian piety ? x 

1 Aug., Ep., 96, 408. 



THE REVOLUTION OF THE YEAR 408 ^ 

A second letter 1 of the same year shows that Augustine 
had now got his bearings. He could thereupon formulate 
his demands. It was an opportune time for the destruc- 
tion of his enemies, and Olympius was to furnish the laws 
for this. This action of Augustine's is significant of the 
changed position of the church. We have been following a 
situation in which the political leaders utilized the re- 
ligious struggle for their own ends, now we find the relig- 
ious leaders utilizing politics for religious purposes. 

... I write, therefore, to salute you, and to charge you, by 
the love which you have in Jesus Christ our Lord, to see that 
your good work be hastened on with the utmost diligence, in 
order that the enemies of the church may know that those 
laws concerning the demolition of idols and the correction of 
heretics which were sent into Africa while Stilicho yet lived, 
were framed by the desire of our most pious and faithful 
emperor ; for they either cunningly boast, or willingly imagine, 
that this was done without his knowledge, or against his will, 2 
and thus they render the minds of the ignorant full of sedi- 
tious violence, and excite them to dangerous and vehement 
enmity against us. 

I do not doubt that in submitting this in the way of petition 
or respectful suggestion to the consideration of your excel- 
lency, I act agreeably to the wishes of my colleagues through- 
out Africa; and I think that it is your duty to take measures, 
as could be easily done, on whatever opportunity may first 
arise, to make it understood by these vain men, (whose sal- 
vation we seek, although they resist us) that it was to the 
care, not of Stilicho, but of the son of Theodosius, that 
those laws which have been sent into Africa for the defence 
of the Church of Christ owed their promulgation. . . . That 
the province be made to know how the mind of our most 

1 Aug., Ep., 97. 

2 A false edict of toleration had been circulated. Aug., Ep., 105 : 
2, 6. 



132 



POLITICS AND RELIGION 



gracious emperor stands toward the church, I recommend, nay 
I beseech, and implore you, to take care that no time be lost, 
but that its accomplishment be hastened, even before you see 
the bishops who have gone from us, so soon as shall be pos- 
sible for you, in the exercise of your most eminent vigilance 
on behalf of the members of Christ who are now in circum- 
stances of the utmost danger; for the Lord has provided no 
small consideration for us under these trials seeing that it has 
pleased Him to put much more now than formerly in your 
power, although we were already filled with joy by the num- 
ber and the magnitude of your good offices. 

We rejoice much in the firm and steadfast faith of some, 
and these not few in numbers, who by means of these laws 
have been converted to the Christian religion, or from the 
schism of the Catholic peace, for whose eternal welfare we 
are glad to run the risk of forfeiting temporal prosperity. 
For on this account especially we now have to endure at the 
hands of men, exceedingly and obdurately perverse, more 
grievous assaults of enmity, which some of them along with 
us bear most patiently ; but we are in great fear because of 
their weakness, until they learn, and are enabled by the help 
of the Lord's most compassionate grace, to despise with more 
abundant strength of spirit the present world and man's short 
day. May it please your highness to deliver the letter of in- 
structions which I have sent to my brethren the bishops when 
they come, if, as I suppose, they have not yet reached you. 
For we have such confidence in the unfeigned devotion of 
your heart, that with the Lord's help we desire to have you 
not only giving us your assistance, but also participating in 
our consultations. 

Augustine was assuming the position which he was ulti- 
mately to hold as director of political as well as religious 
affairs. 

In the letter just quoted, Augustine mentions bishops 
who had gone from Africa to the emperor. These were 
delegates from the twelfth and thirteenth councils of Car- 



THE REVOLUTION OF THE YEAR 408 j^ 

thage who had been sent to secure legislation for the de- 
struction of paganism and heresy. 1 As a result of the 
demands of Augustine and the bishops a series of Dracon- 
ian laws was issued. The partisans of Gildo were again 
proscribed. 2 Then by an act of the fourteenth of Novem- 
ber, all non-Christians were excluded from service in the 
royal household. 3 " We forbid those who are hostile to the 
Catholic party to serve in the palace, in order that no one 
be attached to us in any manner who differs from us in 
faith and religion." Zosimus gives us 4 the following 
(pagan) account of the difficulty of enforcing this law. 

Generidus, although of barbarian extraction was in disposition 
inclined to all virtues and was remarkably devoid of covet- 
ousness. While he adhered to ancient ordinances and could 
not endure to relinquish the old mode of worshipping the 
gods, a law was promulgated, prohibiting all who were not 
Christians from wearing a girdle at court. This law being 
established, Generidus, who was at that time a military officer 
at Rome, laid aside his girdle and remained in his own house. 
The emperor requiring him, as enrolled among the officers, 
to attend at court in his due course, he replied that there was 
a law which forbade him the use of the girdle, or that anyone 
should be reckoned among the officers who did not reverence 
the Christian religion. The emperor answered that the law 
indeed was obligatory on all others but excepted him alone, 

1 Harduin, op. cit., i, 926, Can. 106; Hefele, op. cit., ii, 1, 158, Can. 
106. In hoc concilio logationem iterum suscepit Fortunatianus epis- 
copus contra paganos et haereticos. ... In hoc concilio susceperunt lega- 
tionem Restitutus et Florentius episcopi, contra paganos et haereticos. 

2 Cod. Theod., ix, 40, 19. 

3 Cod. Theod., xvi, 5 : 42. " Olympio Magistro Officiorum et Valenti 
Comiti Domesticorum. Eos, qui catholicae sectae sunt inimici, intra 
palatium militare prohibemus, ut nullus nobis sit aliqua ratione con- 
junctus, qui a nobis fide et religione discordat." 

* Zos., op. cit., v, 46. 



J 34 



POLITICS AND RELIGION 



who had undertaken such dangerous enterprises for the com- 
monwealth. Generidus said in reply that he could not suffer 
himself to accept an honor that appeared to affront all who 
by means of that law had been put out of commission. Nor 
did he execute his office until the emperor compelled both by 
necessity and shame completely abolished the law and gave 
to all persons liberty of enjoying their own sentiments in all 
offices, whether military or civil. 

A law of the fifteenth of November renews the former pre- 
scriptions against heretics and gentiles. 1 " We decree that 
all that has been formerly enacted by the authority of gen- 
eral laws against the Donatists (who also are called Mon- 
tenses 2 ), Manichaeans or Priscillianists or aginst the 
pagans, not only stand but indeed be carried into full and 
effective execution; that not only their buildings but also 
those of the Caelicoli (who hold meetings for a sort of 
dogma with which we are not familiar) shall be adjudged 
to the churcries. Indeed by this law, the penalty is estab- 
lished that those ought to be held as convicted who shall 
have confessed themselves to be Donatists, or who shall 
have avoided the Catholic communion, under the conceal- 
ment of a left-handed sort of religion, even though they 
shall Jiave simulated that they were Christians." 

Another law of the twenty-fourth of November, ad- 
dressed to Donatus, the proconsul of Africa, was to repress 

1 Cod. Theod., xvi, 5, 43. Omnia, quae in Donatistas (qui et Mon- 
tenses vocantur), Manichaeos, sive Priscillianistas vel in gentiles a nobis 
generalium legum auctoritate decreta sunt, non solum manere decerni- 
mus, verum in executionem plenissimam effectumque deduci, ita ut 
aedificia quoque vel horum vel Caelicolarum etiam (qui nescio cuius 
dogmatis novi conventus habent) ecclesiis vindicentur. Poena vero 
lege proposita veluti convictos tenere debebit eos, qui Donatistas se 
confessi fuerint vel catholicorum communionem refugerint scaevae 
religionis obtentu, quamvis Christianos esse se simulent. Cf., p. 125. 

2 Montenses was the term by which the Donatists at Rome were 
designated. Cf. Jerome, Chron., 356. 



THE REVOLUTION OF THE YEAR 408 l ^ 

the Donatists. It reads : x " The new and unusual audacity 
of the Donatists, heretics and Jews shows that they wish to 
disturb the sacraments of the Catholic faith. Beware lest 
this pest come forth and spread further by contagion. 
Therefore, upon those who shall have attempted anything 
that may be adverse or contrary to the Catholic party, we 
adjudge that the penalty of a just punishment be im- 
posed." 

Another law of the twenty-seventh of November reads : 2 
" Let the defenders, curials, and all officials maintain a 
watch lest anyone who is at variance with the supreme 
ecclesiastical authority have a chance for illicit meeting in 
any city or any remote part of a territory. We decree that 
these places are to be confiscated no excuse being accepted ; 
and those who dare dispute these things and to maintain 
what the divine precept condemns are to be outlawed and 
exiled." 

Finally, episcopal courts were provided for. 3 " Let an 
episcopal decision be valid for all those who choose to be 
heard by the clergy, and we command that that respect be 

1 Cod. Theod., xvi, 5, 44. Donatistarum haereticorum Judaeorum 
nova aclque inusitata detexit audacia, quod catholicae fidei velint sacra- 
menta turbare. Quae pestis cave contagione latius emanet ac profluat. 
In eos igitur, qui aliquid, quod sit catholicae sectae contrarium adver- 
sumque, temptaverint, supplicium justae animadverslonis expromi prae- 
cipimus. Cf. Aug., Ep., 100, 2. 

2 Cod. Theod., xvi, 5, 45. Defensorum curialium omniumque offi- 
ciorum specula custodiat, ne quis intra aliquam civitatem, vel ulla terri- 
torii parte secreta, qui ab ecclesiae catholico sacerdote dissidet, inlicitae 
coitionis habeat facultatem. Ipsa etiam loca juri publico sociari seclusa 
omni excusatione censemus et proscribtos eos in exilium detrudi, qui 
audent disputare ea et adserere, quae institutio divina condemnat. 

3 Cod. Just., i, 4, 8. Episcopale judicium sit ratum omnibus 1 qui se 
audiri a sacerdotibus elegerint, eamque illorum judication! adhibendam 
esse reverentiam (jubemus), quam vestris referre necesse est potesta- 
tibus a quibus non licet provocare. Per judicum quoque officia, ne sit 
cassa episcopalis cognitio, defmitioni executio tribuatur. 



136 POLITICS AND RELIGION 

paid to their adjudication which it is necessary to attribute 
to your powers, from which it is not permitted to ap- 
peal. Let it be the duty of the judges to give execution to 
the final decision, that the episcopal procedure may not be 
ineffective." 

Hardly less significant than this outburst of persecutory 
legislation is the change in the attitude of Augustine. 
Olympius, his orthodox disciple, is in power in place of the 
tolerant Stilicho. Augustine takes a new tone; his atti- 
tude and temper are in keeping with the sterner mood of 
the persecutor, and the former breadth and sympathetic 
charity give way to a fanatic zeal which was to be a fatal 
example for succeeding ages. This new spirit is shown in 
a letter written in the year 408 and addressed to Vincen- 
tius. 1 Its historical importance is of the greatest, and were 
it not too long for quotation in full, should be given here 
entire. 

The letter starts by pointing out the dangers threatening 
the church from the Donatists, dangers which he says 
would justify their repression and correction by the tem- 
poral powers. Indeed — and the significance of this should 
not be lost in the history of persecution — he is of the opin- 
ion that such repression as there has been has not been with- 
out results. 

The repression and correction of [the Donatists] by the 
powers which are ordained by God appears to me to be la- 
bor not in vain. For we already rejoice in the correction 
of many who hold and defend the Catholic unity with such 
sincerity and are so glad to be delivered from their former 
error, that we admire them with great thankfulness, and 
pleasure. . . . Was it my duty to be displeased at the sal- 
vation of these men and to call back my colleagues from a 
fatherly diligence of this kind, the result of which has been, 
that we see many blaming their former blindness? . . . 

1 Aug., Ep., 93. 



THE REVOLUTION OF THE YEAR 408 137 

[To restrain and correct such heretics would be returning 
good for evil.] If we were to overlook and forbear with those 
cruel enemies who seriously disturb our peace and quietness 
by manifold and grievious forms of violence and treachery, 
as that nothing at all should be contrived and done by us 
with a view to alarm and correct them, truly we would be 
rendering evil for evil. For if anyone saw his enemy run- 
ning headlong to destroy himself when he had become delir- 
ious through a dangerous fever, would he not in that case 
be much more truly rendering evil for evil if he permitted 
him to run on thus, than if he took measures to have him 
seized and bound? And yet he would at that moment appear 
to the other to be a most vexatious and most like an enemy, 
when in truth, he had proved himself most useful and most 
compassionate: although, doubtless, when his health was re- 
covered, would he express to him his gratitude with a 
warmth proportionate to the measure in which he had felt 
his refusal to indulge him in his time of frenzy. O, if I 
could but show you how many we have even from the Cir- 
cumcellions, who are now approved Catholics, and condemn 
their former life, and the wretched delusion under which 
they believed that they were doing in behalf of the Church 
of God whatever they did under the prompting of a restless 
temerity, who nevertheless would not have been brought to this 
soundness of judgment had they not been as persons beside 
themselves, bound with the cords of the laws which are dis- 
tasteful to you. As to another form of most serious dis- 
temper, — that namely, of those who had not indeed, a bold- 
ness leading to acts of violence, but were pressed down by 
a kind of inveterate sluggishness of mind, and would say to 
us, "What you affirm is true, nothing can be said against it; 
but it is hard for us to leave off what we have received from 
our fathers ", why should not such persons be shaken up in a 
beneficial way by a law bringing upon them inconveniences 
in worldly things, in order that they might rise from their 
lethargic sleep and awake to the salvation which is to be 
found in the unity of the church? How many of them re- 



138 



POLITICS AND RELIGION 



joicing with us, speak bitterly of the weight with which their 
ruinous course formerly oppressed them, and confess that it 
was our duty to inflict annoyances upon them, in order to 
prevent them from perishing under the disease of lethargic 
habit, as under a fatal sleep. . . . 

[Instruction and a wholesome fear should go hand in 
hand.] But you ought to consider also the very large 
number over whose salvation we rejoice. For if they 
were only made afraid, not instructed, this might ap- 
pear to be a kind of inexcusable tyranny. Again, if 
they were instructed only, not not made afraid, they 
would be with more difficulty persuaded to embrace the way 
of salvation, having hardened through inveteracy of custom, 
whereas many whom we have known well, when arguments 
have been brought before them, and the truth made apparent 
by testimonials from the word of God, answered us that they 
desired to pass into the communion of the Catholic Church 
but were in fear of the violence of worthless men, whose 
enmity they would incur; which violence they ought by all 
means to despise when it was to be borne for righteousness' 
sake and for the sake of eternal life. Nevertheless, the weak- 
ness of such men ought not to be regarded as hopeless, but 
to be supported until they gain strength. . . . When how- 
ever, wholesome instruction is added to means of inspiring 
salutary fear, so that not only the light of truth may dis- 
pell the darkness of error, but the force of fear may at the 
same time break the bonds of evil custom, we are made glad, 
... by the salvation of many. . . . 

[It is not a sign of enmity to punish.] Not everyone who is 
indulgent is a friend; nor is everyone an enemy who smites. 
Better are the wounds of a friend than the proffered kisses of 
an enemy. It is better with severity to love, than with gentle- 
ness to deceive. More good is done by taking away food from 
one who is hungry, if, through freedom from care as to his 
food, he is forgetful of righteousness, than by providing bread 
for one who is hungry, in order that, being thereby bribed, 
he may consent to unrighteousness. He who binds the man 



THE REVOLUTION OF THE YEAR 408 l ^g 

who is in a frenzy, and he who stirs up the man who is in a 
lethargy, are alike vexatious to both, and are in both cases 
alike prompted by love for the patient. Who can love us 
more than God does? And yet He not only gives us sweet 
instruction, but also quickens us by salutary fear, and this 
unceasingly. Often adding to the soothing remedies by which 
He comforts men the sharp medicine of tribulation, He afflicts 
with famine even the pious and devout patriarchs, disquiets 
a rebellious people by more severe chastisements, and refuses, 
though twice besought to take away the thorn in the flesh 
of the apostle, that He may make His strength perfect in 
weakness. Let us by all means love even our enemies. . . . 
Let us in like manner ponder His correction of those whom 
He loves. 

You are of the opinion that no one should be compelled to 
follow righteousness : and yet you read that the householder 
said to his servants, " Whomsoever ye shall find, compel him 
to come in." You also read how he who was at the first 
Saul and afterwards Paul, was compelled by the great vio- 
lence with which Christ coerced him to know and to embrace 
the truth ; for you cannot but think that the light which your 
eyes enjoy is more precious to men than money or any other 
possession. This light lost suddenly by him when he was 
cast to the ground by the heavenly voice, he did not re- 
cover until he became a member of Holy Church. You are 
also of opinion that no coercion is to be used with any- 
one in order to his deliverance from the fatal consequences 
of error. . . . You know also that sometimes the thief scat- 
ters food before the flock that he may lead them astray and 
sometimes the shepherd brings wandering sheep back to the 
flock with his rod. . . . Let us learn, my brother, in actions 
which are similar to distinguish the intentions of the agents ; 
and let us not, shutting our eyes, deal in groundless reproaches 
and accuse those who seek man's welfare as if they did them 
wrong/' . . . 

[The question of the righteousness of the persecution 
lies in the object to be obtained.] If to suffer persecu- 



I4 POLITICS AND RELIGION 

tion were in all cases a praiseworthy thing, it would have 
sufficed for the Lord to say, " Blessed are they which are 
persecuted ", without adding, " for righteousness sake." 
Moreover, if to inflict persecution were in all cases blame- 
worthy, it would have been written in the sacred books,. 
" Whoso privily slandereth his neighbor, him will I perse- 
cute." In some cases therefore both he that suffers perse- 
cution is in the wrong and he that inflicts it is in the 
right. . . . 

[Appealing to the emperors for power to repress is justi- 
fied.] You say that no example is found in the writings 
of the evangelists and apostles, of any petition presented on 
behalf of the Church to the kings of the earth against her 
enemies. Who denies this? None such is found. But at 
that time the prophecy, " Be wise now, therefore, O ye 
Kings; be ye instructed, C ye judges of the earth; serve the 
Lord with fear," was not yet fulfilled. ... In the age of the 
apostles and martyrs, that was fulfilled which was prefigured 
when the aforesaid king, Nebuchadnezzar, compelled pious 
and just men to bow down to his image, and cast into the 
flames all those who refused. Now, however, is fulfilled that 
which was prefigured soon after in the same king when be- 
ing converted to the worship of the true God, he made a de- 
cree throughout his empire, that whosoever should speak 
against the God of Shadrack, Meshack and Abednago, should 
suffer the penalty which their crime deserved. The earliest 
time of that king represented the former age of emperors who 
did not believe in Christ, at whose hands the Christians 
suffered because of the wicked ; but the later time of that king 
represented the age of the successors to the imperial throne, 
now believing in Christ at whose hands the wicked suffer 
because of the Christians. 

It is manifest, however, that moderate severity, or rather 
clemency, is carefully observed toward those who, under the 
Christian name, have been lead astray by perverse men, in the 
measures used to prevent them who are Christ's sheep from 
wandering and to bring them back to the flock, when by pun- 



THE REVOLUTION OF THE YEAR 408 l ^ l 

ishments, such as exiles, and fines, they are admonished to 
consider what they suffer and wherefore, and are taught to 
prefer the Scriptures which they read to human legends and 
calumnies. For which of us, yea, which of you, does not 
speak well of the laws issued by the emperors against heathen 
sacrifices? In these assuredly, a penalty much more severe 
has been appointed, for the punishment of that impiety is 
death. But in repressing and restraining you, the thing aimed 
at has been rather that you should be admonished to depart 
evil, than that you should be punished for a crime. . . You 
are all alike restrained with a comparatively gentle severity, 
as being not so far alienated from us. And this I may say, 
both concerning all heretics without distinction, who, while 
retaining the Christian sacraments, are dissenters from the 
truth and unity of Christ, and concerning all Donatists with- 
out exception. . . 

[The Donatist party itself has been active in seeking 
imperial aid.] As to the obtaining or putting in force 
of edicts of the powers of this world against schismatics 
and heretics those from whom you separated yourselves were 
very active in this matter, both against you, so far as we 
have heard, and against the followers of Maximianus, as we 
prove by the indisputable evidence of their own records. . . . 
If not even that which is just is to be sought by appeal to 
an emperor, why was that which was by you supposed to by 
just sought from Julian? 

Do you reply that it is lawful to petition the emperor in 
order to recover what is one's own, but not lawful to accuse 
another in order that he may be coerced by the emperor? I 
may remark, in passing, that in even petitioning for the re- 
covery of what is one's own, the ground covered by apostolic 
example is abandoned, because no apostle is found to have 
done even this. . . . 

[The end to which one is to be coerced should determine 
the persecution.] You now see, I suppose, that the thing 
to be considered when anyone is coerced, is not the mere 
fact of coercion, but the nature of that to which he is co- 



I4 2 POLITICS AND RELIGION 

erced, whether it be good or bad; not that anyone can be 
good in spite of his own will, but that, through fear of suf- 
fering what he does not desire, he either renounces his hostile 
prejudices, or is compelled to examine truth of which he 
has been contentedly ignorant; and under the influence of 
this fear repudiates the errors which he was wont to defend, 
or seeks the truth of which he formerly knew nothing, and 
now willingly holds what he formerly rejected. Perhaps it 
would be utterly useless to assert this in words, if it were 
not demonstrated by so many examples. We see not a few 
men here and there, but many cities, once Donatist, now 
Catholic, vehemently detesting the diabolical schism, and 
ardently loving the unity of the church ; and these became 
Catholic under the influence of that fear which is to you so 
offensive by the laws of the emperors, from Constantine, be- 
fore whom your party of their own accord impeached 
Caecilianus, down to the emperors of our own time, who most 
justly decree that the decisions of the judge whom your own 
party chose and whom they preferred to a tribunal of bishops, 
should be maintained in force against you. 

[Augustine confesses that he had but slowly arrived at this 
position.] I have yielded, therefore, to the evidence afforded 
by these instances which my colleagues have laid before me. 
For originally my opinion was that no one should be coerced 
into the unity of Christ, that we must act only by words, fight 
only by arguments, and prevail by force of reason, lest we 
should have those whom we knew as avowed heretics feign- 
ing themselves to be Catholics. But this opinion of mine 
was overcome, not by the words of those who controverted 
it, but by the conclusive instances to which they could point. 
For, in the first place, there was set over against my opinion 
my own town, while although it was once wholly on the side 
of Donatus, was brought to the Catholic unity by fear of the 
imperial edicts, but which we now see filled with such de- 
testation of your ruinous perversity, that it would scarcely be 
believed that it had ever been involved in your error. There 
are so many others which were mentioned to me by name, 



THE REVOLUTION OF THE YEAR 408 ^3 

that, from facts themselves, 1 was made to own that to this 
matter the word of Scripture might be understood as apply- 
ing : " Give opportunity to a wise man and he will be yet 
wiser." For how many were already, as we assuredly know, 
willing to be Catholics, being moved by the indisputable plain- 
ness of truth, but daily putting off their avowal of this through 
fear of offending their own party. How many were bound 
not by truth — for you never pretended to that as yours — but 
by the heavy chains of inveterate custom, so that in them 
was fulfilled the divine saying, "A servant (who is hardened) 
will not be corrected by words; for though he understand 
he will not answer." How many supposed the sect of Donatus 
to be the true church, merely because ease had made them 
too listless, or conceited, or sluggish, to take pains to examine 
Catholic truth. How many would have entered earlier had 
not the calumnies of slanderers who declared that we offered 
something else than we do upon the altar of God, shut them 
out ! How many, believing that it mattered not to what party 
a Christian belonged, remained in the schism of Donatus 
only because they had been born in it, and no one was com- 
pelling them to forsake it and pass over into the Catholic 
Church. 

To all these classes of persons the dread of those laws in 
the promulgation of which kings served the Lord in fear, has 
been so useful, that now some say we were willing for 
this some time ago; but thanks to God who has given us 
occasion for doing it at once, and has cut off the hesitancy 
of procrastination. Others say, We already knew this to be 
true but we were held prisoners by the force of old custom; 
thanks be to the Lord, who has broken these bonds asunder; 
and has brought us into the bond of peace. Others say, We 
knew not that the truth was here, and we had no wish to 
learn it; but fear made us become earnest to examine it 
when we became alarmed, lest, without any gain in things 
eternal, we should be smitten with loss in things temporal; 
thanks be to the Lord, who has by the stimulus of fear 
startled us from our negligence, that now being disquieted we 



I4 4 POLITICS AND RELIGION 

might inquire into those things which, when at ease, we did 
not care to know. Others say, We were prevented from 
entering the church by false reports, which we could not 
know to be false unless we entered it ; and we would not enter 
unless we were compelled ; thanks be to the Lord, who by this 
scourge took away our timid hesitation, and taught us to find 
out for ourselves how vain and absurd were the lies which 
rumor had spread abroad against His church; by this we are 
persuaded that there is no truth in the accusations made by 
the authors of this heresy, since the more serious charges 
which their followers have invented are without foundations. 
Others say, We thought, indeed, that it mattered not in what 
communion we held the faith of Christ; but thanks to the 
Lord who has gathered us in from a state of schism, and has 
taught us that it is fitting that the one God be worshipped in 
unity. 

Could I, therefore, in opposition to my colleagues and by 
resisting them stand in the way of such conquests of the 
Lord, and prevent the sheep of Christ which were wandering 
on your mountains and hills — that is, on the swellings of your 
pride, — from being gathered into the fold of peace, in which 
there is one flock and one shepherd. Was it my duty to ob- 
struct these measures, in order, forsooth, that you might not 
lose what you call your own, and might without fear rob 
Christ of what is His; that you might frame your testaments 
according to the Roman law and might by calumnious accusa- 
tions break the Testament made with the sancion of Divine 
law to the Fathers, in which it is written, " In thy seed shall 
all the nations of the earth be blessed " ; that you might have 
freedom in your transactions in the way of buying and sell- 
ing, and might be emboldened to divide and claim as your 
own that which Christ bought by giving Himself as its price : 
that any gift made over by one of you to another might re- 
main unchallenged, and that the gift which God of Gods has 
bestowed upon His children, called from the rising of the sun 
to the going down thereof, might become invalid; that you 
might not be sent into exile from the land of your natural 



THE REVOLUTION OF THE YEAR 408 



145 



birth, and that you might labor to banish Christ from the 
kingdom bought with His blood, which extends from sea to sea 
and from the river to the ends of the earth? Nay verily, 
let the kings of the earth serve Christ by making laws 
for Him and for His Cause. Your predecessors exposed 
Caecilianus and his companions to be punished by the kings of 
the earth for crimes with which they were falsely charged; 
let the lions now be turned to break in pieces the bones of 
the calumniators, and let no intercession for them be made 
by Daniel when he has been proved innocent, and set free 
from the den in which they meet their doom; for he that 
prepareth a pit for his neighbor shall himself most justly 
fall into it. . . . 

[History affords precedents in the cases of Jews and pagans.] 
You profess, nevertheless, to be afraid lest when you are 
compelled by imperial edicts to consent to unity the name of 
God be for a longer time blasphemed by the Jews and the 
heathen : as if the Jews were not aware how their own nation 
Israel, in the beginning of its history wished to exterminate 
by war the two tribes and a half which had received pos- 
sessions beyond the Jordan, when they thought that these had 
separated themselves from the unity of their nation. As to 
the pagans, they may indeed with greater reason reproach 
us for the laws which Christian emperors have enacted against 
idolators, and yet many of those have thereby been and are 
now daily turned from idols to the living and true God. 

The earlier tolerant policies of Augustine came in later 
years to be forgotten. On the other hand, we have numer- 
ous instances where members of the church, wishing to jus- 
tify acts of intolerance, refer to this letter of the bishop of 
Hippo. Six months after the Massacre of St. Bartholo- 
mew, in the year 1573, the brother of Charles IX, Henry 
of Anjou, later to become Henry III, arrived in the city 
of Cracow in Poland. While there, during the night, he 
sent for his doctor named Miron and said to him, " I have 



I4 6 POLITICS AND RELIGION • 

sent for you to share my restlessness and agitation of this 
night as my repose is troubled in thinking of the execution 
of St. Bartholomew, of which possibly you have not known 
the truth, such as I now would tell you." He then re- 
counted the story of the facts and the part he took. Miron 
wrote it down. He could justify himself by the fact that St. 
Bartholomew was authorized by the principles of the Bishop 
of Hippo. We have in the Bibliotheque Nationale a vol- 
ume published in 1573, entitled, Epistre de st. Augustin a 
Vincent, fort convenable au temps present, tant pour re- 
duire et remettre a l' unite de Veglise les heretiques, comme 
pour y maintenir ceux qui y sont demeures. This was 
written by one of the assassins. Boussuet repeats in his 
Defense de la tradition et des saints peres (book VI, ch. 
21), the words of a Jesuit of the times of Louis XIV, 
Etienne Deschamps, who calls Augustine, la langue de la 
verite, V arsenal de Veglise, V oracle des treize siecles. 

After the revocation of the Edict of Nantes, Ferrand, a 
lawyer, published in Paris (1686) a manifesto entitled, La 
Conduite du roi a Vegard des protestans semblable a la 
conduit e de Vempereur Honorius et de Saint Augustin a 
Vegard des donatistes. 1 

1 Saint Rene Taillandier, Saint Augustine et la Liberte de Conscience^ 
Revue des seux Mondes, July 15, 1862, Paris. M. Ad. Schaeffer,. 
Essai sur l'avenir de la tolerance (Paris, 1862), 180. 



CHAPTER VI 

Augustine's Relations with Paganism after the 
Year 408 

In Africa the fall of Stilicho and the absolute control 
given thereby to the orthodox through new laws and lead- 
ers caused the religious struggle to burst forth in actual 
hostilities. Despite the laws against their holidays the 
pagans at Calama observed the first day of June. When 
the clergy tried to stop this they were driven away ; where- 
upon they appealed to the magistrates of the city whose 
business it should have been to enforce the law. When 
these officials attempted to issue restraining orders, the 
pagans attacked the church. Rioting continued through- 
out the next day, ecclesiastical buildings were burned, a 
cleric was killed and the rest of the clergy, including the 
bishop, escaped death only by flight. Since the authorities 
did not repress the mob or aid the clergy, the Church took 
measures looking to the punishment of the outrage. We 
have the correspondence which passed between Nectarius, a 
leading pagan of Calama, and Augustine relative to this 
incident. Nectarius saw that clemency, if it were to be ob- 
tained at all, must be sought through the African leader, 
Augustine ; so he wrote : x 

Now my Lord most excellent and worthy of all esteem, this 
town has fallen disastrously by a grievous misdemeanor on the 
part of her citizens, which must be punished with very great 

1 Aug., Ep., 90 (408 A. D.). 

i47 



148 



POLITICS AND RELIGION 



severity, if we are dealt with according to the rigor of the 
civil law. But a bishop is guided by another law. His duty 
is to promote the welfare of men, to interest himself in any 
case only with a view to the benefit of the parties, and to ob- 
tain for other men the pardon of their sins at the hand of 
Almighty God. Wherefore I beseech you with all possible 
urgency to secure that, if the matter is to be made the subject 
of a prosecution, the guiltless be protected and a distinction 
drawn between the innocent and those who did the wrong. 
This, which, as you see, is a demand in accordance with your 
own natural sentiments, I pray you to grant. An assessment 
to compensate for the losses caused by the tumult can easily be 
levied. We only deprecate the severity of revenge. 

To this Augustine replied : * 

Consider now whether you would prefer to see your country 
nourish by the piety of its inhabitants, or by escaping the pun- 
ishment of their crimes. . . He (God) hath both foretold and 
commanded the casting down of the images of the many false 
Gods which are in the world. For nothing so effectually ren- 
ders men depraved in practice, and unfit to be good members 
of society, as the imitation of such dieties as are described and 
extolled in pagan writings. . . . We have heard within the 
last few days that such interpretations (non-literal) are now 
read to the people when they assemble in the temples. . . . 

We are therefore resolved, neither on the one hand to lay 
aside Christian gentleness, nor on the other to leave in your 
city that which would be a most pernicious example for all 
others to follow. . . . 

You cannot in that community (Calama) draw a distinction 
between innocent and guilty persons, for all are guilty; but 
perhaps you may distinguish degrees of guilt. Those are in 
comparatively small fault, who, being kept back by fear, es- 
pecially by fear of offending those whom they knew to have 
leading influence in the community and to be hostile to the 

1 Aug., Ep. t 91 (408 A. D.). 



AUGUSTINE'S RELATIONS WITH PAGANISM 



149 



Church, did not dare to render assistance to the Christians; 
but all are guilty who consented to these outrages, though 
they neither perpetrated them nor instigated others to the 
crime; more guilty are those who perpetrated the wrong, and 
most guilty are those who instigated them to it. Let us, how- 
ever, suppose that the instigation of others to these crimes 
is a matter of suspicion rather than of certain knowledge, and 
let us not investigate those things which can be found out in 
no other way than by subjecting witnesses to torture. Let us 
also forgive those who through fear thought it better for 
them to plead secretly with God for the bishop and His other 
servants, than openly to displease the powerful enemies of the 
Church. What reason can you give for holding that those 
who remain should be subjected to no correction and re- 
straint? . . . Now wicked men have something in respect to 
which they may be punished and that by Christians, in a 
merciful way, and so as to promote their own profit and well- 
being. For, they have these three things : life and health of 
the body, the means of supporting that life, and the means and 
opportunities of living a wicked life. Let the two former re- 
main untouched in the possession of those who repent of their 
crimes : this we desire, and this we spare no pains to secure. 
But as to the third, upon it God will, if it please Him, inflict 
punishment in His great compassion, dealing with it as a de- 
caying and diseased part, which must be removed with the 
pruning-knife. ... 

When I went recently to Calama ... I used all my influ- 
ence with the Christians to persuade them to do what I 
judged to be their duty at that time. I then at their request 
admitted to an audience the pagans also, the source and cause 
of all this mischief, in order that I might admonish them what 
they should do if they were wise, not only for the removal 
of the present anxiety, but also for the obtaining of eternal sal- 
vation. They listened to many things which I said, and they 
preferred many requests to me; but far be it from me to be 
such a servant as to find pleasure in being petitioned by those 
who do not humble themselves before my Lord to ask from 



I5 o POLITICS AND RELIGION 

Him. . . As for the loss sustained, this is either borne by the 
Christians or remedied by their brethren. What concerns us 
is the gaining of souls, which even at the risk of life, we are 
impatient to secure ; and our desire is that in your district we 
may have larger success, and that in other districts we may not 
be hindered by the influence of your example. 

The case dragged on and so the next year Nectarius 
again took up the matter, writing to Augustine as follows i 1 

The last statement in your Excellency's letter was, that neither 
capital punishment nor bloodshed is demanded in order to 
compensate for the wrong done to the Church, but that the 
offenders must be deprived of the possessions which they most 
fear to lose. But in my deliberate judgment, though, of 
course, I may be mistaken, it is a more grievous thing to be 
deprived of one's property than to be deprived of life, . . . 
for it is worse to live miserably than to put an end to our 
miseries by death. 

Again, as to the degree of demerit in the faults of some as 
compared with others, it is of no importance what the quality 
of the fault may seem to be in a case in which forgiveness is 
craved. For, in the first place, if penitence procures forgive- 
ness and expiates the crime — and surely he is penitent who 
begs pardon and humbly embraces the feet of the party whom 
he has offended — and if, moreover, as is the opinion of some 
philosophers, all faults are alike, pardon ought to be bestowed 
upon all without distinction. 

... I beg and implore you (Oh that I were in your pres- 
ence that you might also see my tears ! ) to consider again and 
again who you are, what is your professed character, and what 
is the business to which your life is devoted. Reflect upon 
the appearance presented by a town from which men doomed 
to torture are dragged forth ; think of the lamentations of the 
mothers and wives, of sons and fathers; think of the shame 
felt by those who may return, set at liberty indeed, but hav- 

1 Aug., Ep., 103 (409 A. D.). 



AUGUSTINE'S RELATIONS WITH PAGANISM 151 

ing undergone the torture; think what sorrow and groaning 
the sight of their wounds and scars must renew. And again 
when you have pondered all these things, first think of God, 
and think of your good name among men; or rather think of 
what friendly charity and the bond of common humanity re- 
quire at your hands, and seek to be praised not for punishing 
but for pardoning the offenders. And such things may indeed 
be said regarding your treatment of those whom actual guilt 
condemns on their own confession : to these persons you have, 
out of regard to your religion, granted pardon ; for this I shall 
always praise you. But now it is scarcely possible to express 
the greatness of that cruelty which pursues the innocent, and 
summons those to stand trial on a capital charge of whom it 
is certain that they had no share in the crimes alleged. If it 
so happens that they are acquitted, consider, I beseech you, 
with what ill-will their acquittal must be regarded by their ac- 
cusers who of their own accord dismissed the guilty from the 
bar, but let the innocent go only when they were defeated in 
their attempts against them. 

Augustine very firmly replied : 1 

Have you perchance heard some report, which is as yet un- 
known to us, that my brother Possidius had obtained authority 
for proceedings of greater severity against your citizens, whom 
— you must excuse me for saying this — he loves in a way more 
likely to promote their welfare than you do yourself? For 
your letter shows that you apprehended something of this 
kind. . . . Far be it from us to demand the infliction, either 
by ourselves or by any one, of such hardships upon any of our 
enemies ! But, as I have said, if report has brought any such 
measures of severity to your ears, give us a more clear and 
particular account of the things reported, that we may know 
either what to do in order to prevent these things from being 
done, or what answer we must make in order to disabuse the 
minds of those who believe the rumor. 

1 Aug., Ep., 104 (409 A. D.). 



I5 2 POLITICS AND RELIGION 

. . . You have inserted in your letter what I have never 
said at all in mine. You say that the concluding sentence of 
my letter was, " that neither capital punishment nor blood- 
shed is demanded in order to compensate for the wrong done 
to the Church, but that the offenders must be deprived of that 
which they most fear to lose," and then, in showing how 
great a calamity this imports, you add and connect with my 
words that you " deliberately judge, though you may be mis- 
taken, that it is a more grievous thing to be deprived of one's 
possessions than to be deprived of life." . . . You have drawn 
the conclusion that it is " worse to live miserably than to put 
an end to our miseries by death." . . . 

If you had read over again these words of mine when you 
were pleased to write your reply, you would have looked upon 
it rather as an unkind insinuation than as a necessary duty to 
address to me a petition not only for deliverance from death, 
but also for exemption from torture, on behalf of those re- 
garding whom I said we wished to leave unimpaired their 
possession of bodily life and health. Neither was there any 
ground for your apprehending our inflicting a life of indigence 
and of dependence upon others for daily bread. . . Why, I 
ask, does your patriotic heart dread the stroke which shall cut 
this away, in order to prevent a fatal boldness from being in 
everything fostered and confirmed by impunity? . . . Mark 
carefully what I say, lest under the form of a petition in re- 
gard to what I am saying you appear to bring against us an 
indirect accusation. 

. . . Let this at least be granted by you, that those who at- 
tempt with fire and sword to destroy what are necessaries to us 
be made afraid of losing those luxuries of which they have a 
pernicious abundance. Permit us also to confer upon our ene- 
mies this benefit, that we prevent them, by their fears about 
that which it would do them no harm to forfeit, from attempt- 
ing to do that which would bring harm to themselves. For 
this is to be termed prudent prevention, not punishment of 
crime; this is not to impose penalties, but to protect men from 
becoming liable to penalties. 



AUGUSTINE'S RELATIONS WITH PAGANISM 



!53 



. . . When surgeons see that a gangrene must be cut away 
or cauterized, they often, out of compassion, turn a deaf ear 
to many cries. If we had been indulgently forgiven by our 
parents and teachers in our tender years on every occasion on 
which, being found in fault, we begged to be let off, which of 
us would not have grown up intolerable? Which of us would 
have learned any useful thing? Such punishments are admin- 
istered by wise care, not by wanton cruelty. 

. . . Far be it from a Christian heart to be carried away by 
the lust of revenge to inflict punishments on anyone. Far be 
it from a Christian, when forgiving anyone his faults, to do 
otherwise than either anticipate or at least promptly answer 
the petition of him who asks forgiveness ; but let his purpose 
in doing this be, that he may overcome the temptation to hate 
the man who has offended him, and to render evil for evil, and 
to be inflamed with rage prompting him, if not to do an injury, 
at least to desire to see the infliction of the penalties ap- 
pointed by the law; let it not be that he may relieve himself 
from considering the offender's interests, exercising foresight 
on his behalf, and restraining him from evil actions. For it is 
possible, on the other hand, that, moved by more vehement 
hostility, one may neglect the correction of a man whom he 
hates bitterly, and on the other hand, that by correction in- 
volving the infliction of some pain one may secure the im- 
provement of another whom he dearly loves. 

... In the case of some Christians who confessed their 
faults, and asked forgiveness for having been involved in the 
guilt of that crime, — either by their not protecting the Church 
when in danger of being burned, or by their appropriating a 
portion of the property which the miscreants carried off, — we 
believed that the pain of repentance had borne fruit, and con- 
sidered it sufficient for their correction, because in their hearts 
is found that faith by which they could realize what they 
ought to fear from the judgment of God for their sin. But 
how can there be any healing virtue in the repentance of those 
who not only fail to acknowledge, but even persist in mocking 
and blaspheming Him who is the fountain of forgiveness? 



154 



POLITICS AND RELIGION 



At the same time, towards these men we do not cherish enmity 
in our hearts. . . . But we think that we are even taking 
measures for the benefit of these men, if, seeing that they do 
not fear God, we inspire fear in them by doing something 
whereby their folly is chastened, while their real interests 
suffer no wrong. . . . 

Fear not, then, that we will try to bring innocent persons 
to death, when in truth we do not even wish the guilty to ex- 
perience the punishment which they deserve. . . . But the 
man who, from fear of painfully crossing the will of the guilty, 
spares and indulges vice which must thereby gather more 
strength, is less merciful than the man who, lest he should hear 
his little boy crying, will not take from him a dangerous knife, 
and is unmoved by fears of the wounds or death which he may 
have to bewail as the consequence of his weakness. Reserve, 
therefore, until the proper time the work of interceding with 
us for those men in loving whom (excuse my saying so) you 
not only do not go beyond us, but are even hitherto refusing 
to follow our steps ; and write rather in your reply what influ- 
ences you to shun the way we follow, and in which we beseech 
you to go along with us toward that fatherland above, in 
which we rejoice to know you take great delight. 

Our sources indicate that in Africa from this time on, the 
pagan question drops more and more into the background. 
We find Augustine's efforts confined to converting their in- 
tellectual aristocracy by means of an argumentative liter- 
ature. This was a return to his earlier policy. He had 
carried on such a discussion with Maximus of Madaura in 
the year 390. * Throughout, the argument with Nectarius 
of Calama had been of this nature. 2 Augustine had con- 
tended that the fatherland should be in heaven; that the 
Church should be the instructress of the people. Accord- 

1 Aug., Epp., 16, 17. 

2 Ibid., 90, 91, 103, 104. 



AUGUSTINE'S RELATIONS WITH PAGANISM 155 

ingly he felt that paganism must be attacked in its modes 
of expression: sculpture, literature, comedies, songs and 
dances. A letter of the year 409 to a fellow bishop, Memor, 
asserted that the pagan literature was falsely called lib- 
eral; in Christian literature alone was there true liberty. 
He condemned pagan poetry, oratory, philosophy and, 
though to a less extent, pagan history. 1 

For to men who, though they are unjust and impious, imagine 
that they are well educated in the liberal arts, what else ought 
we to say to them than what we read in those writings which 
truly merit the name of liberal, " if the Son shall make you 
free, ye shall be free indeed." For it is through Him that men 
come to know, even in those studies which are termed liberal 
by those who have not been called to this true liberty, anything 
in them which deserves the name. . . . The freedom which is 
our privilege has nothing in common with the innumerable and 
impious fables with which the verses of silly poets are full, nor 
with the fulsome and highly polished falsehoods of their ora- 
tors, nor, in fine, with the rambling subtleties of philosophers 
themselves. . . . Their historical works, the writers of which 
profess to be chiefly concerned to be accurate in narrating 
events, may perhaps, I grant, contain some thing worthy of 
being known by " free " men, since the narration is true 
whether the subject described in it be the good or the evil in 
human experience. At the same time, I can by no means see 
how men who were not aided in their knowledge by the Holy 
Spirit, and who were obliged to gather floating rumors under 
the limitations of human infirmity, could avoid being misled 
in regard to very many things; nevertheless, if they have no 
intention of deceiving, and do not mislead other men other- 
wise than so far as they have themselves, through human in- 
firmity, fallen into a mistake, there is in such writings an ap- 
proach to liberty. 

... It was not possible for anyone, in translating these 

1 Aug., Ep., 101. 



156 



POLITICS AND RELIGION 



poems from the Hebrew, of which language I know nothing, 
to preserve the meter. 1 

It was a student, Dioscorus, who, in the year 410, drew 
from Augustine his most caustic characterization of the 
pagan education. 2 Dioscorus had asked for an opinion 
regarding passages from Cicero. 3 Augustine's attack on 
such vanities gives an excellent picture of the state of cul- 
ture at his time. Even before the Germans had touched 
Africa, intellectual conditions had fallen to a very low 
plane. This goes to show that we have been blaming the 
barbarians for a state of affairs v/hich is due in this case, 
in part at least, to Christianity. According to Augustine 
such questions as Dioscorus had raised could not and 
should not be treated of at Hippo or elsewhere; the Chris- 
tian doctrine had need only of faith. 

You have sent suddenly upon me a countless multitude of 
questions. ... I would, indeed, be prevented answering by 
the number of the questions to be resolved, even if their solu- 
tion were easy. But they are so perplexing and intricate, and 
so hard, that even if they were few in number, and engaging 
me when otherwise wholly at leisure, they would, by the mere 
time required, exhaust my powers of application, and wear 
out my strength. I would fain, however, snatch you forcibly 
away from the midst of those inquiries in which you so much 
delight, ... in order that you may either learn not to be un- 
profitably curious, or desist from presuming to impose the 
task of feeding and fostering your curiosity upon men among 
whose cares one of the greatest is to repress and curb those 

1 Aug., Ep., 55, 2 confirms this confession of ignorance of Hebrew. 
He knew Greek but imperfectly: Ep., 28, 2; Ep., 40; Cont. Lift. Pet., 
ii, 38; Conf., vii, 13; i, 23; i, 20; De Trin., iii, 1; Cont. Faust, xi, 2-5; 
De Doctr. Christ., ii, n-i5- 

2 Aug., Ep., 118 (410 A. D.). 
'Aug., Ep., 117 (410 A. D.). 



AUGUSTINE'S RELATIONS WITH PAGANISM 157 

who are too inquisitive. For if the time and pains are de- 
voted to writing anything to you, how much better and more 
profitable are these employed in endeavors to cut off those 
vain and treacherous passions, . . . disguised and cloaked 
under the semblance of virtue and the name of liberal studies. 

For tell me what good purpose is served by the many dia- 
logues which you have read, if they in no way helped you 
towards the discovery and attainment of the end of all your 
actions? . . . When I consider how a bishop is distracted 
and overwrought by the cares of his office clamoring on every 
side, it does not seem to me proper for him suddenly, as if 
deaf, to withdraw himself from all these, and devote himself 
to the work of expounding to a single student some unim- 
portant questions in the Dialogues of Cicero. 

. . . But you, — and what should make you more ashamed, 
— you, when on the eve of sailing away from Africa, give evi- 
dence of your having made signal progress, forsooth, in your 
studies here, when you affirm that the only reason why you 
impose the task of expounding Cicero to you, upon bishops, 
who are already oppressed with work and engrossed with 
matters of a very different nature, is, that you fear that if, 
when questioned by men prone to censure, you cannot answer, 
you will be regarded by them as illiterate and stupid. Oh 
cause, well worthy to occupy the hours which bishops devote 
to study! . . . For I pray you consider how much better and 
more profitable it is for you to receive from us with far more 
certainty and with less loss of time those principles of truth 
by which you can for yourself refute all that is false, and by 
so doing be prevented from cherishing an opinion so false and 
contemptible as this, — that you are learned and intelligent if 
you have studied with a zeal in which there is more pride 
than prudence the worn-out errors of many writers of a 
by-gone age. . . . For in the first place, I do not at all see, 
that, in the countries in which you are so afraid of being es- 
teemed deficient in education and acuteness, there are any 
persons who will ask you a single question about these matters. 
Both in this country, to which you came to learn those things, 



158 



POLITICS AND RELIGION 



and at Rome, you know by experience how little they are es- 
teemed and that in consequence, they are neither taught nor 
learned ; and throughout all Africa, so far are you from being 
troubled by any such questioner, that you cannot find any one 
who will be troubled with your questions, and are compelled 
by the dearth of such persons to send your questions to bishops 
to be solved by them : as if, indeed, these bishops, although 
in their youth, under the influence of the same ardor — let me 
rather say error — which carries you away, they were at pains 
to learn these things as matters of great moment, permitted 
them still to remain in memory now that their heads are white 
with age and they are burdened with the responsibilities of 
episcopal office; or as if, supposing them to desire to retain 
these things in memory, greater and graver cares would not 
in spite of their desire banish them from their hearts; or as 
if, in the event of some of these things lingering in recollection 
by the force of habit, they would not wish rather to bury in 
utter oblivion what was remembered, than to answer senseless 
questions at a time when, even amidst the comparative leisure 
enjoyed in the schools and in the lecture-rooms of rhetoric- 
ians, they seem to have so lost their voice and vigor that, in 
order to have instruction imparted concerning them, it is 
deemed necessary to send them from Carthage to Hippo, — a 
place in which all such things are so unwonted and so wholly 
foreign, that if, in taking the trouble of writing an answer to 
your question, I wished to look at any passage to discover the 
order of thought in the context preceding or following the 
words requiring exposition, I would be utterly unable to find a 
manuscript of the works of Cicero. I am amazed in a degree 
beyond all expression that a young man of your good sense 
should be afraid lest you should be afflicted with any ques- 
tioner on these subjects in the cities of Greece and of the 
East. You are much more likely to hear jackdaws in Africa 
than this manner of conversation in those lands. 

. . . But if you reply that you have already learned this, and 
say that the truth supremely necessary is Christian doctrine, 
which I know that you esteem above all other things, placing 



AUGUSTINE'S RELATIONS WITH PAGANISM 159 

in it alone your hope of everlasting salvation, then surely this 
does not demand a knowledge of the Dialogues of Cicero, and 
a collection of the beggarly and divided opinions of other men, 
in order for you to persuade men to give a hearing. Let your 
character and manner of life command the attention of those 
who are to receive any such teaching from you. I would not 
have you open the way for teaching the truth by first teaching 
what must afterwards be unlearned. . . 

Augustine himself showed a profound contempt for all 
educational traditions. He would gladly reject all rules 
of grammar if thereby what he had to say might be made 
more intelligible to the ignorant. 1 Literature was to be 
used only as an instrument and so was to be abridged or 
amended to suit the occasion. Rhetoric might be con- 
served as a means of propaganda though as a rule there 
were Christian models to be preferred to pagan authors. 2 
He counted as one of the errors of his own youth his 
fondness for philosophy. 3 

The Church in Africa had already expressed ideas in 
general similar to these. The Synod of Hippo in 393 de- 
cided to have as clerics only those instructed in the scriptures 
and from their infancy dedicated to the faith. 4 The Statua 
Ecclesiae Antiqua forbade bishops the study of profane 
authors (Can. 16). We learn from Augustine that libraries 
were very poor. 5 He pointed out that clerics by living 
near their bishops might learn through observation. Jerome 

1 Aug., Enarr. in Ps., xxxvi, 6 ; cxxxviii, 20 ; Serm., xxxvii, 10, 14 ; 
ccxcix, 6. 

2 Aug., De Doct. Christ., iv, 2-7 ; ii, 37, 56. 

8 Aug., Retr., i, 4. 4 Can., 5. Cf. supra, p. 87. 

5 Aug., Ep., 158, 1. See also Cyprianus Telonenis, Vita St. Caesarii, 
" He who is inspired by the Holy Ghost possesses sufficiently the orna- 
ments of style." Gregory the Great, Bk. ix; Ep., 48 would not have 
bishops teach grammar. 



!6o POLITICS AND RELIGION 

at this time still believed in the classics to that extent that 
" it was necessary to cut off the head of Goliath with his 
own sword." x 

The pagan Volusianus and his circle drew from Au- 
gustine in the year 412 a discussion of various topics; 2 the 
mysteries, the virgin birth, the incarnation, etc. The chief 
thesis of this group seems to have been that the Christian 
religion was incompatible with the interests of the state. 

For a colleague, Deogratias, Augustine discussed the fol- 
lowing questions which the pagans had raised: 3 1. Is Christ 
or Lazarus to be resurrected? 2. Why has the coming of 
Christ been so delayed ? 3. Are the Christian sacrifices dif- 
ferent from those of the pagans? 4. Is the text, " You will 
be judged in the same manner as you have judged," con- 
trary to the Christian menace of eternal punishment for all 
who do not believe? 5. Did Solomon say that God had no 
sons ? 6. Did the whale swallow Jonah ? 

We now come to the setting for what is undoubtedly not 
only the greatest of Augustine's works but the greatest of 
all the apologetic philosophies of Christian history — The 
City of God. It was the situation in Italy rather than that 
in Africa which called it forth. The revolution of 408 had 
been accompanied by a slaughter of the Gothic allies. 4 Their 
kinsmen thereupon promptly revolted and besieged Rome. 
Again as in the days of Radagaisus the popular mind in 
the period of great distress turned to thoughts of religion 
and longed for the protection of the old Roman Gods. 
Zosimus gives the following (non-Christian) account of 
what took place. 5 

1 Jerome, Ep., 70 ; 22, 30. 2 Aug., Epp., 135, 136, 137, 138. 

3 Aug., Ep., 102. 

4 Cf. supra, p. 129. 

5 Zos., op. cit., v, 41. Zosimus is our only source for the events from 
the death of Stilicho until the arrival of Alaric before Rome. 



AUGUSTINE'S RELATIONS WITH PAGANISM 161 

While they were occupied in these reflections, Pompeianus, 
the prefect of the city, accidentally met with some persons who 
were come to Rome from Tuscany and related that a town 
called Neveia (Narni) had delivered itself from extreme 
danger, the barbarians having been repulsed from it by storms 
of thunder and lightning, which were caused by the devotion 
of its inhabitants to the gods, in the ancient mode of worship. 
Having discoursed with these men, he performed all that was 
in his power according to the books of the chief priests. 
Recollecting, however, the opinions that were then prevalent, 
he resolved to proceed with greater caution, and proposed the 
whole affair to the bishop of the city, whose name was Inno- 
cent. Preferring the preservation of the city to his own pri- 
vate opinion, he gave them permission to do privately what- 
ever they knew to be convenient. They declared, however, 
that what they were able to do would be of no utility, unless 
the public and customary sacrifices were performed and unless 
the Senate ascended to the capitol, performing there, and in 
the different markets of the city, all that was essential. But 
no person daring to join in the ancient religious ordinances, 
they dismissed the men who were come from Tuscany, and 
applied theselves to the endeavoring to appease the barbarians 
in the best manner possible. . . . They resolved to supply the 
deficiency (of ransom) from the ornaments that were about 
the statues of the gods. This was in effect only rendering 
inanimate and inefficacious those images, which had been 
erected and dedicated to the sacred rites and ceremonies, and 
were decorated with precious attire, for preserving the city in 
perpetual felicity. And since every thing then conspired to 
the ruin of the city, they not only robbed the statues of their 
ornaments, but also melted down some of them that were 
made of gold and silver. Among these was that of Valor or 
Fortitude, which the Romans call Virtus. This being de- 
stroyed, all that remained of the Roman valor and intrepidity 
was totally extinguished ; according to the remarks of persons 
who were skilled in sacred rites and observances. 1 

1 Zos., op. cit,, v, 42 gives the terms of the treaty. 



l£>2 POLITICS AND RELIGION 

Sozomen states 1 that the necessity for sacrifice was pro- 
claimed by the pagan senators and that the sacrifices did 
take place. Probably as a reflex of this we have the law of 
February i, 409, against astrologers, Mathematici. 2 

When Alaric had received the promised ransom from 
Rome he retired into Tuscany and attempted to renew nego- 
tiations with the Emperor. However, Olympius dismissed 
the embassy which Alaric had sent to treat with him. 
Olympius' line of conduct in this affair reacted in the in- 
terest of the non-Christian parties and in March, 409, 
Olympius gave way before the popular condemnation. He 
was replaced by Jovius, the praetorian prefect, and Gener- 
idus, a pagan, was made general of Dalmatia, Pannonia, 
Noricum and Rhaetia. 3 Alaric immediately renewed his 
demand that he be made master of the militia, only to have 
it indignantly refused by Honorius himself who thereupon 
even forced his ministers to swear by his own sacred head 
that they would not make peace with his enemy. 4 Alaric 
seeing that he could not bring the Emperor to terms pro- 
ceeded to Rome and took the port of Ostia, 5 the food depot 
of the city. Then he called upon the city to surrender. The 
Senate was in no position to refuse his terms and allowed 
him to set up a new and rival emperor, Attalus, who had 
been prefect of the city. 6 This was also the recognition of 
the non-orthodox element of society for Attalus who had 

1 Soz., op. cit., ix, 6; Olymp., Fr., 80; Phil., op. cit., xii, 3; Tillemont, 
Mem. Eccles., x, 645, will not believe the bishop guilty of such impiousi 
condescension as is here charged to him. 

2 Cod. Theod., ix, 16, 12. 

3 Zos., op. cit., v, 46; cf. supra, p. 133. 
'Ibid., v, 48-49. 

5 Ibid., v, 50 ; Soz., op. cit., ix, 8. 

6 Ibid., vi, 7 et seq.; Soz., op. cit., ix, 8-9; Olym., op. cit, Fr., 13; 
Phil., op. cit., xii, 3 ; Oros., op. cit., vii, 42 ; Soc, op. cit., vii, 10. 



AUGUSTINE'S RELATIONS WITH PAGANISM 163 

been educated a pagan 1 was immediately baptised an 
Arian 2 by the Gothic bishop Sigesarius in order to fit the 
requirements of the new situation. Lampadius, the most 
exalted pagan of his times was made praetorian prefect, 3 
and Marcianus, another of the friends of Symmachus, was 
made prefect of the city. Alaric became magister militum 
praesentatis and Adolphus, comes domes tic or am. Ter- 
tullus was designated consul for the ensuing year. In tak- 
ing possession of the consulate in 410, he renewed the an- 
cient ceremonies. According to Orosius he addressed the 
Senate as follows : 4 " O Conscript Fathers, I address you 
to-day in the capacity of consul and pontiff; I already pos- 
sess the first of these dignities, I shall restore the other." 
According to Zosimus 5 all Rome rejoiced and was satisfied 
at the change save only the great Anician family whose for- 
tunes were now bound up with the Christian party. This 
was the family of the ex-consuls Olybrius and Probinus. 
It also included some of Jerome's most devout female fol- 
lowers and was quite naturally very much in disfavor with 
the pagan party. 6 

Honorius with his Christian Court at Ravenna, real- 
izing the crisis and the danger that all the pagan 
and heretical parts of his empire might go over to the 
usurper, repealed the laws against pagans and heretics 
and granted to all free choice in matters of faith. 7 This 

1 Phil., op. cit., xii, 3. 2 Soz., op. cit., ix, 9. 

3 Zos., op. cit, vi, 7; Aug., Ep., 243; Baronius, op. cit., vi, p. 574; 
Ann., 410. 

* Oros., op. cit., vii, 42. 

5 Zos., op. cit., vi, 7. 

fl Baronius, op. cit., Ann., 312, no. 78: 322, no. 44: 395, no. 5-17; Amm. 
Marc, op. cit., xxvii, 11; Tillemont, Hist, des Emper., iv, 183. 

7 Hefele, op. cit., ii, i, 159; Mansi, op. cit., iii, 810; Harduin, op. cit., 
i, 926, Can. 107, " In hoc concilio legationem susceperunt contra Dona- 
tistas Florentius, Possidius, Praesidius et Benenatus episcopi, eo tem- 
pore quo lex data est, ut libera voluntate quis cultum Christianitatis 
exciperet." 



164 POLITICS AND RELIGION 

called forth vehement protests from the African councils. 
Meanwhile, however, events had restored the fortunes of 
the Emperor. The troops which Attalus had sent under 
Constantine into Africa against Heraclian, the murderer 
of Stilicho, trusted too much in a promised supernatural 
aid and were defeated. 1 Then Honorius received rein- 
forcements from the East and Attalus himself seems to 
have shown distrust of his Gothic allies and to have op- 
posed sending them into Africa as reinforcements. This 
angered Alaric who thereupon called Attalus to Rimini 
(Ariminum) and despoiled him of his diadem and of the 
purple. 2 Yet he took care to protect Attalus and his family 
from Honorius. 3 Then, not having been able to conclude a 
peace with the Emperor, Alaric marched against Rome for 
the third time and on August the twenty- fourth, 4 he took 
and sacked the city. Orosius 5 gives no suggestion that 
any great amount of damage was done. It is only from 
Jerome who was living in the East, 6 and from Procopius 7 
who wrote many years later that we get descriptions of the 
horrors of the sack. Orosius, on the other hand, describes 
at length the piety of the Goths ; 8 not, however, mention- 
ing that they were Arians. Jordanes 9 and Isidore of Se- 
ville 10 have later embellished the tales of Jerome and Pro- 
mos., op. cit., vi, 7. 

2 Zos., op. cit., vi, 12 ; Soz., op. cit., ix, 8 ; Phil., op. cit., xii, 3 ; Oros., 
op. cit., vii, 42. 

3 Beugnot, op. cit., ii, 65, " Le regne d'Attale est le dernier fait de 
l'histoire ou rinfluence du parti pa'ien se revele." 

4 Cedrenus gives Aug. 26. Phil., op. cit., xii, 3 ; Soz., op. cit., ix, 9. 

5 Orosius, op. cit., vii, 39 ; cf. Aug., Serm., 107. 
* Jerome, Epp., 126, 127, 128. 

' Proc, De Bell. Vand., i. 

8 Oros., op. cit., vii, 39; cf. Aug., City of God; Rut. Narrat, de reditu 
suo. 

9 Jordanes, De Reb. Get., c. 30. 
10 Isidore, Chron., 714. 



AUGUSTINE'S RELATIONS WITH PAGANISM 165 

copius. Gregorovius' careful research x has shown the for- 
bearance of the Goths. Alaric was in the city but three 
days. On the third he left for southern Italy with the pur- 
pose of crossing into Africa. This plan was not carried out 
as Alaric died before the end of the year. 2 

One of the chief effects of the presence of the barbarians 
in Rome was the migration of many of the leading Senator- 
ial families to their African estates. 3 There they fell a prey 
to Count Heraclian who despoiled them and sold many as 
slaves. These pagan Romans who fled before the Arian 
Goths may have been one of the causes for the law of the 
thirtieth of August, 415, which ordered priests to return to 
their native towns. The law reads : 4 

1 Gregorovius, Rome in the Middle Ages, i, 158. 

2 Oros., op. cit., vii, 39 ; Marcel., Chron., says Alaric left on the sixth 
day. Jordanes, De Reb. Get., 30, gives the romantic story of the 
burial of Alaric in the Basentus. 

"Jerome, Ep., 130; Tillemont, Mem. Ecc, xiii, 620-635. 

4 Cod. Theod., xvi, ic, 20. " Impp. Honorius et Theodosius A. A. 
Sacerdotales paganae superstitionis conpetenti coercitioni subjacere 
praecipimus, nisi intra diem kalendarum Novembrium de Karthagine 
decedentes ad civitates redierint genitales, ita ut simili quoque cen- 
surae per totam Africam sacerdotales obnoxii teneantur, nisi de me- 
itropolitanis urbibus discesserint et remearint ad proprias civitates. 
Omnia etiam loca, quae sacris error veterum deputavit, secundum divi 
Gratiani constituta nostrae rei jubemus sociari ita ut ex eo tempore, 
quo inhibitus est publicus sumptus superstitioni deterrimae exhiberi, 
fructus ab incubatoribus exigantur, quod autem ex eo jure ubicumque 
ad singulas quasque personas vel praecedentium principum largitas 
vel nostra majestas voluit pervenire, id in eorum patrimoniis aeterna 
firmitate perduret. Quod non tarn per Africam quam per omnes re- 
giones in nostro orbe positas custodiri decernimus. Ea autem, quae 
multiplicibus constitutis ad venerabilem ecclesiam voluimus pertinere, 
Christiana sibi merito religio vindicabit, ita ut omnis expensa illius 
temporis ad superstitionem pertinens, quae jure damnata est, omnia- 
que loca, quae frediani, quae dendrophori, quae singula quaeque 
nomina et professiones gentiliciae tenuerunt epulis vel sumptibus de- 
putata, possint hoc errore submoto compendia nostrae domus suble- 




1 66 POLITICS AND RELIGION 

We order that the priests of the pagan superstition be sub- 
jected to legal constraint unless they leave Carthage before the 
first of November and return to their native cities. Let the 
priests throughout Africa be held subject to a similar sentence, 
unless they quit the metropolitan cities and return to their 
own. And, in accordance with the decrees of the divine 
Gratian, we command that all places which the error of the 
ancients assigned to sacred uses shall be confiscated, and that 
mesne profits shall be collected from the possessors from the 
time when it was forbidden to devote public resources to most 
unworthy superstition, provided, however, that whatever parts 
or proceeds of such property have been given by the generosity 
of our predecessors or by our own majesty to any particular 
persons in any place, shall remain securely forever in their 
private estates. Let these decrees be observed not only in 
Africa but throughout the whole of the empire. All that 
property, however, which we have granted to the venerable 
Church by numerous constitutions, the Christian religion will 
justly claim as its own, provided that all outlays of that time 
pertaining to a superstition which has been condemned by law, 
and all the property held by the Frediani, the Dendrophori, 
or devoted in whatever heathen names or professions to their 
feasts or expenses, this error having been removed, shall in- 
crease the revenues of our establishment. And if things 
formerly consecrated to sacrifices have contributed to the 
misleading of men, let them be taken from the baths and public 
places, that they may no longer seduce the erring. In addi- 
tion we have determined that the Chiliarchae and the Cen- 
tonarii, and all others who are said to usurp the distribution 
of the people into companies, shall be removed, and if any of 

vare. Sane si quondam consecrata sacrificiis deceptionem hominum 
praestiterunt, ab usibus lavacrorum vel publicis affectibus separentur, 
ne inlecebram errantibus praestent. Chiliarchas insuper et centon- 
arios vel qui sibi plebis distributionem usurpare dicuntur censuimus re- 
movendos, ita ut capitalem sententiam non evadat, si quis aut volens 
ad huiusmodi nomen accesserit aut passus fuerit vel invitum se huius- 
modi praesumptioni atque invidiae deputari." 



AUGUSTINE'S RELATIONS WITH PAGANISM 167 

them voluntarily shall have received this sort of title or shall 
have allowed himself even against his will to be designated to 
such presumptuous and invidious duties, he shall not escape 
capital punishment. 

The presence of this foreign pagan element may also 
have been one of the causes for Augustine's last and great- 
est polemic against the pagans. At this period (411) he 
began his magnum opus, The City of God, as a refutation 
of the pagan claim that the miseries of the times, and es- 
pecially the sack of Rome, 1 were the result of the desertion 
of the old gods. He finished the first three books in 41 3. * 
The whole occupied him until 426. It was an argument 
that the calamities of Rome were no greater in Christian 
times than they had been in pagan. We may judge from 
the edict of 415, just cited, why Augustine advises those 
pagans desiring to reply to be careful how they attempt to 
do so. 3 

But now I see that I must answer those who, being confuted 
and convinced by the most manifest proofs, in this that these 
false gods have no power in the distribution of temporal goods 
(which only fools desire), now go to affirm that they are 
worshiped, not for the helps of this life present, but to that 
which is to come. For in these five books past, we have said 
enough to such as (like little babies) cry out that they would 
fain worship them for those earthly helps, but cannot be suf- 
fered. The first three books I had no sooner finished and let 
pass abroad into some men's hands than I heard of some that 
prepared to make (I know not why) an answer to them or a 
reply upon them. Afterwards I heard, that they had written 

1 Some contemporary arguments are also disposed of, as (ii, 3) " It 
does not rain^ that is the fault of the Christians." 
1 Aug., Ep., 154. 
8 Aug., City of God, v, 26. 



!68 POLITICS AND RELIGION 

them, but were waiting a time when they could publish in 
security. But I advise them not to wish a thing so inexpe- 
dient; it is an easy thing for any man to seem to have made 
an answer, that is not altogether silent ; but what is more talk- 
ative than vanity, which cannot have the power of truth, by 
reason that it has more tongues than truth? But let these 
fellows mark each thing well ; and if their impartial judgments 
tell them, that their tongue's ripe satirism may more easily dis- 
turb the truth of this world, than subvert it, let them keep in 
their trumperies, and learn rather to be reformed by the wise, 
than applauded by the foolish. For if they await a time (not 
for the freedom of truth but) for the licensing of reproach, 
God forbid that that should be true of them, which Tully 
spoke of a certain man, " who was called happy in having 
leave to offend. O wretched man, who hath free liberty to 
offend." 

This work was intended for the intellectual aristocracy 
only. Augustine, realizing that the common people were 
to be reached by other means, authorized his follower, the 
Spaniard, Paul Orosius, to prepare a treatise for that class : 

You have commanded me to write against the vain rhetoric of 
those who, aliens to the city of God, coming from country 
cross-roads and villages, are called pagans because they smack 
of the soil, who seek not unto the future and ignore the past, 
yet cry down the present time as filled with evil, just because 
Christ is believed and God is worshipped. You have com- 
manded that I should gather from histories and annals what- 
ever mighty ills and miseries and terrors there have been 
from wars and pestilence, from famine, earthquake and 
floods, from volcanic eruptions, from lightning or hail, and 
also from monstrous crimes in the past centuries, and that I 
should arrange and set forth the matter briefly in a book. 1 

1 Orosius, op. cit., Praef. 



AUGUSTINE'S RELATIONS WITH PAGANISM 



169 



This Christianized Universal History of Paul Orosius ex- 
ercised great authority in the Middle Ages for it was not 
the intellectuals who survived. 

Such was the literary combat in which Augustine par- 
ticipated. 1 At Rome in the year 410 the pagan party was 
still flourishing and though they never again came into 
power as a political party, from the few subsequent sources 
which we possess relating to them we may conclude that 
their strength did not entirely vanish. They continued to 
hold office, which shows that Zosimus is correct when he 
states that the law of 408 was repealed. Rutilius Nama- 
tianus was prefect in 413, Albinus in 414, Symmachus in 
418 and Volusianus in 429. Yet paganism, such as it was, 
gave no concern to Augustine during the rest of his life- 
time. Nor do we hereafter find any laws of the Western 
Emperors directed against it. 

1 Salvian, De Gubernatione Dei written about 440 treats of the same 
theme as Orosius and Augustine, but he is writing ostensibly for 
Christians and concludes that Rome's misfortunes are the direct pun- 
ishment for the sins of the Christians themselves. 



CHAPTER VII 
Suppression of the Donatists 

The victory of the orthodox which in 408 placed Olym- 
pius in power was of great significance for the African 
situation. Its first and most important consequence was 
the enforcement of the anti-heretical laws. Governors and 
other officers suddenly became extremely zealous in putting 
into effect the full letter of the law. This was due in part 
to the decree of the Emperor on the subject of official con- 
nivance, in part to the fact that the officials were now of 
the faith, but especially to an immediate supervision on 
the part of the African clergy. Indeed it was Augustine's 
watchful oversight that became the guiding force for this 
new outburst of persecuting enthusiasm. The whole situ- 
ation is well set forth in a letter which Augustine addressed 
to the African proconsul, Donatus. This gives us a clear 
insight into the nature of Augustine's control over the im- 
perial, forces as director of this crusade, which was the re- 
sult of the changed attitude toward persecution that had 
been adopted both by himself and by the government. It 
lays down for the proconsul the lines that he is to follow in 
enforcing the laws for the extinction of heresy. Again 
Augustine's skill as an administrator is shown. In order 
that advantages already gained may not be destroyed by 
too great severity, and prosecutions become repugnant to 
all except the most fanatic, Donatus is requested to issue 
a new edict wherein it is to be laid down that all the old 
edicts on the subject of heresy continue in force, but — 
170 



SUPPRESSION OF THE DONATISTS 



I 7 I 



and herein Augustine's masterly diplomacy is shown — Don- 
atus is advised not to apply the harsher provisions of the 
laws and to take care that all proceedings shall be public. 
The letter reads i 1 

I would indeed that the African Church were not placed in 
such trying circumstances as to need the aid of earthly power. 
. . . For, O noble and deservedly honorable lord and emi- 
nently praiseworthy son, who does not perceive that in the 
midst of so great calamities no small consolation has been be- 
stowed upon us by God, in that you, such a man and so de- 
voted to the name of Christ, have been raised to the dignity of 
proconsul, so that power allied with your good-will may re- 
strain the enemies of the Church from their wicked and sac- 
rilegious attempts? In fact, there is one thing of which we 
are much afraid in your administration of justice, viz., lest 
perchance, seeing that every injury done by impious and un- 
grateful men against the Christian society is a more serious 
and heinous crime than if it had been done against others, you 
should on this ground consider that it ought to be punished 
with a severity corresponding to the enormity of the crime, 
and not with the moderation which is suitable to Christian 

1 Aug., Ep., 100. The severity of the proconsul may possibly be ex- 
plained by the fury of the circumcelliones, whose acts Augustine thus 
describes {Ep., in, 1, 409 A. D.) : " The whole world, indeed, is af- 
flicted with such portentous misfortunes, that there is scarcely any 
place where such things as you describe are not being committed and 
complained of. . . . Behold in our own country of Hippo, which the 
barbarians have not yet touched, the ravages of the Donatist clergy 
and Circumcelliones make such havoc in our churches, that perhaps 
the cruelties of the barbarians would be light in comparison. For what 
barbarian could ever devise what these have done, viz., casting lime 
and vinegar into the eyes of our clergymen, besides atrociously beat- 
ing and wounding every part of their bodies? They also plunder and 
burn houses, rob granaries, and pour out oil and wine; and threaten- 
ing to do this to all others in the district, they compel many even to be 
rebaptized. Only yesterday, tidings came to me of forty-eight souls 
in one place having submitted, under fear of such things, to be re- 
baptized." Cf. Ep., 108, 5, 14; 6, 18. 



17 2 POLITICS AND RELIGION 

forbearance. We beseech you, in the name of Christ, not to 
act in this manner. For we do not seek to revenge ourselves 
in this work; nor ought the things which we suffer to reduce 
us to such distress of mind as to leave no room in our 
memory for the precepts in regard to this which we have re- 
ceived from Him for whose truth and in whose name we suf- 
fer; we " love our enemies", and "we pray for them". It 
is not their death, but their deliverance from error, that we 
seek to accomplish by the help of the terror of judges and of 
laws, whereby they may be preserved from falling under the 
penalty of eternal judgment; we do not wish either to see the 
exercise of discipline towards them neglected, or on the other 
hand, to see them subjected to the severer punishment which 
they deserve. Do you, therefore, check their sins in such a 
way, that the sinners may be spared to repent of their sins. 

We beg you, therefore, when you are pronouncing judg- 
ment in cases affecting the Church, how wicked soever the 
injuries may be which you shall ascertain to have been at- 
tempted or inflicted on the Church, to forget that you have the 
power of capital punishment, and not to forget our request. 
Nor let it appear to you as unimportant and beneath your 
notice, my most beloved and honored son, that we ask you to 
spare the lives of the men on whose behalf we ask God to 
grant them repentance. For even granting that we ought 
never to deviate from a fixed purpose of overcoming evil with 
good, let your own wisdom take this also into consideration, 
that no person beyond those who belong to the Church is at 
pains to bring before you cases pertaining to her interests. If, 
therefore, your opinion be, that death must be the punishment 
of men convicted of these crimes, you will deter us from en- 
deavoring to bring anything of this kind before your tribunal ; 
and this being discovered, they will proceed with more unre- 
strained boldness to accomplish speedily our destruction, when 
upon us is imposed and enjoined the necessity of choosing 
rather to suffer death at their hands, than to bring them to 
death by accusing them at your bar. Disdain not, I beseech 
you, to accept this suggestion, petition, and entreaty from me. 



SUPPRESSION OF THE DONATISTS 173 

For I do not think that you are unmindful that I might have 
great boldness in addressing you, even were I not a bishop, 
and even though your rank were very much above that which 
you now hold. Meanwhile, let the Donatist heretics learn at 
once through the edict of your Excellency that the laws passed 
against this error, which they suppose and boastfully declare 
to be repealed, are still in force, although even when they 
know this they may not be able to refrain in the least degree 
from injuring us. You will, however, most effectively help us 
to secure the fruit of our labors and dangers, if you take care 
that the imperial laws for the restraining of their sect which 
is full of conceit and impious pride, be so used that they may 
not appear either to themselves or to others to be suffering 
hardship in any form for the sake of truth and righteousness ; 
but suffer them, when this is requested at your hands, to be 
convinced and instructed by incontrovertible proofs of things 
which are most certain, in public proceedings in the presence 
of your Excellency and of inferior judges, in order that those 
who are arrested by your command may themselves incline 
their stubborn will to the better part, and may read these 
things profitably to others of their party. For the pains be- 
stowed are burdensome rather than really useful, when men 
are only compelled, not persuaded by instruction, to forsake 
a great evil and lay hold upon a great benefit. 

The edict by which the Emperor had forbidden any 
further neglect on the part of officials was issued on the 
fifteenth of January, 409, and reads : 

Let not the Donatists nor the supporters of other vain heresies 
nor any of those others who cannot be induced to participate 
in the communion of the Catholic religion, the Jews namely, 
and the gentiles, who are commonly called pagans, conclude 
that the laws previously directed against them have grown 
lukewarm ; let all judges know, on the contrary, that the pro- 
visions of these laws must be faithfully observed and let 
them have no doubt that the execution of all our decrees 



jy 4 POLITICS AND RELIGION 

against those persons is to be among the chiefest of their 
cares. And if any judge by wrongful connivance shall fail to 
enforce the present law, let him know that he will lose his 
office and be subjected to a more serious change of our clem- 
ency, and that his officials who were wanting in regard for 
their own safety will be punished by a fine of twenty pounds 
of gold imposed upon the three chief men. Municipal coun- 
cilors also are to understand that, if they have shown favor 
to culprits by hushing-up offences of this sort in their cities 
or territories, they will be subject to the penalty of deportation 
and forfeiture of all their property. 1 

Another law of the twenty-sixth of June, 409, reads: 
"If anyone has attempted, even by virtue of our own 
written authorization, to act contrary to the laws repeat- 
edly issued for the common welfare, that is, for the ad- 
vantage of the Holy Catholic Church, against heretics and 
followers of a different dogma, let him be deprived of all 
that has been conceded him." 2 

1 Cod. Theod., xvi, 5, 46. " Theodoro P. P. Ne Donatistae vel ceter- 
orum vanitas haereticorum aliorumque eorum, quibus catholicae com- 
munionis cultus non potest persuaderi, Judaei adque gentiles, quos 
vulgo paganos appellant, arbitrentur legum ante adversum se datarum 
constituta tepuisse, noverint judices universi praeceptis earum fideli de- 
votione parendum et inter praecipua curarum quidquid adversus eos 
decrevimus non ambigant exsequendum. Quod si quisquam judicum 
peccato coniventiae exsecutionem praesentis legis omiserit, noverit 
amissa dignitate graviorem motum se nostrae clementiae subiturum, of- 
ncium quoque suum, quod saluti propriae contempta suggestione de- 
fuerit, punitis tribus primatibus condemnatione viginti librarum auri 
plectendum. Ordinis quoque viri si in propriis civitatibus vel territoriis 
commissum tale aliquid siluerint in gratiam noxiorum, deportationis 
poenam et propriarum ammissionem facultatum se noverint subituros." 

2 Cod. Theod., xvi, 5, 47. " Si quis contra ea, quae multipliciter pro 
salute communi, hoc est pro utilitatibus catholicae sacrosanctae eccle- 
siae, adversus haereticos et diversi dogmatis sectatores constituta sunt, 
etiam cum adnotationis nostrae beneficio venire temptaverit, careat im- 
petratis." 



SUPPRESSION OF THE DONATISTS 175 

At Sinitus near Hippo the Donatists issued a proclama- 
tion to the Maximianists x which reads, " Let the house of 
anyone who shall have communed with the Maximianists be 
burned," and certain Donatist priests addressed to Au- 
gustine a dire threat, " Keep away from our people if you 
do not want us to kill you." 2 Against such a spirit it is no 
wonder that Augustine advocated the use of force, saying, 
" If we so discipline you that we force you to unity through 
the commands of the Emperors, you bring it upon your- 
selves, for you by your violence and threats will not per- 
mit anyone in security to listen when we would preach the 
truth." 3 

Yet in the year 410, Heraclian, Count of Africa, re- 
ceived an imperial constitution granting almost universal 
toleration in religious matters. 4 We have already noted the 
circumstances in the Roman empire which caused this to be 
issued. It caused the protest from the Council of the four- 
teenth of June 5 which sent Possidius and three other 
bishops to the court to remonstrate against the liberty ac- 
corded to the Donatists and to demand a general confer- 
ence between the two parties. 6 The edict of toleration was 
annulled by the law of the twenty-fifth of August, 410, 
which reads : " To Heraclian, Count of Africa. Let all the 
enemies of the sacred law know that the constitution which 
they obtained by deception, in favor of the rites of hereti- 
cal superstition, is wholly rescinded, and that they will be 
subjected not only to confiscation of their property but also 

1 Aug., Ep., 105, 2, 4. 

2 Ibid., 105, 1, 1. 3 Ibid., 105, 2, 3. 

4 Cod. Theod., xvi, 5, 51. Aug., Ep., ,108, 6, 18, " istam legem, qua 
gaudetis vobis redditam libertatem." 

5 Harduin, op. cit., i, 926; cf. supra, p. 163. 

6 Aug., Brev. Coll., iii, 2, 2 ; 3, 3 ; 4, 4-5. 




176 



POLITICS AND RELIGION 



to capital punishment, if with execrable and criminal bold- 
ness they continue to attempt to convene in public." x A 
special commissioner, Marcellinus, senator, tribune and 
imperial notary, to whom Augustine's City of God was 
dedicated, was charged by the Emperor to go to Carthage, 
convoke a conference, preside at its debates and establish 
religious unity. 2 Previous to the sessions of the confer- 
ence he was to see that all the laws in favor of the Cath- 
olics were enforced according to the following edict of the 
fourteenth of October, 410: 3 "Honorius and Theodosius to 
their Marcellinus, greeting. We command to be observed, 
complete and inviolate, all that antiquity formerly ordained 
or the religious authority of our predecessors decreed or 
our serenity has confirmed regarding Catholic law, new 
superstition being set aside." 

Although the Donatists must have known of the previous 
persecutions, the edict of union, the repressive laws and 
the attitudes of the Emperor and his commissioner, yet they 
entered the conference. It is not the place here to give a 
history of that assembly. It was convoked by the commis- 
sioner at Carthage for the first day of June, 411. Marcel- 
linus himself presided. Both parties had about the same 
number of representatives. Three sessions were held, at 
the end of which the president closed the conference, con- 

1 Cod. Theod., xvi, 5, 51. " Heracliano Comiti Afficae. Oraculo 
penitus remoto, quo ad ritus suos haereticae superstitionis obrepserant, 
sciant omnes sanctae legis inimici plectendos se poena et proscriptionis 
et sanguinis, si ultra convenire per publicum execranda sceleris sui 
temeritate temptaverint." 

2 Aug., Serm., 357, 358, 359 ; Coll. Carth., i, 4 ; iii, 29. 

s Cod. Theod., xvi, 11, 3. "Honor, et Theod. A. A. Marcellino suo 
salutem. Ea, quae circa catholicam legem vel olim ordinavit anti- 
quitas vel parentum nostrorum auctoritas religiosa constituit vel nostra 
serenitas roboravit, novella superstitione submota integra et inviolata 
custodiri praecipimus." 



SUPPRESSION OF THE DONATISTS iyy 

demned the Donatists and issued an edict of proscription 1 
in which he forbade their meetings and turned their build- 
ings over to the orthodox. This marks the ruin of the 
Donatist cause, for, though they appealed to the Emperor, 2 
alleging fraud and partiality on the part of Marcellinus, 3 
Honorius replied by an edict of persecution. This was 
issued on the thirtieth of January, 412, and reads: 4 

All concessions that have been made in formal edicts or in 
annotation by our own hand being herewith revoked, all the 

' Coll. Carth., iii, 585 ; Aug., Brev. Coll., iii, 25, 43. 

2 Aug., Ad Donat. post Coll., i, 12, 16; Possid., op. cit., 15. 

3 Possid., op. cit., 16; Aug., Brev. Coll., i, praef.; iii, 18, 36; Ad Donat. 
post Coll., i, 1; Ep., 141, 1. "Vestros episcopos dicere cognitorem 
praemio fuisse corruptum." 

* Cod. Theod., xvi, 5, 52. " Seleuco P. P. Cassatis, quae pragmaticis 
vel adnotatione manus nostrae potuerint impetrari, et manentibus his, 
quae jam dudum super hoc definita sunt, et veterum principum sanc- 
tione servata, nisi ex die prolatae legis omnes Donatistae, tarn sacer- 
dotes quam cierici laicique, catholicae se, a qua sacrilege descivere, 
rediderint, tunc inlustres singillatim poenae nomine fisco nostro auri 
pondo quinquaginta cogantur inferre, spectabiles auri pondo quad- 
raginta, senatores auri pondo triginta, clarissimi auri pondo viginti, 
sacerdotales auri pondo triginta, principals auri pondo viginti 
decuriones auri pondo quinque, negotiatores auri pondo quinque, 
plebei auri pondo quinque, circumcelliones argenti pondo decern. Qui 
nisi a conductoribus, sub quibus conmanent, vel procuratoribus exe- 
cutori exigenti fuerint praesentati, ipsi teneantur ad poenam, ita ut 
nee domus nostrae homines ab huiuscemodi censura habeantur in- 
munes. Uxores quoque eorum maritalis segregatim multa constringat. 
Eos enim, quos nequaquam inlata damna correxerint, facultatum 
omnium publicatio subsequetur. Servos etiam dominorum admonitio 
vel colonos verberum crebrior ictus a prava religione revocabit, ni 
malunt ipsi ad praedicta dispendia, etiam si sunt catholici, retineri. 
Cierici vero ministrique eorum ac perniciosissimi sacerdotes, ablati de 
Africano solo, quod ritu sacrilego polluerunt, in exilium viritim ad 
singulas quasque regiones sub idonea prosecutione mittantur, ecclesiis 
eorum vel conventiculis praediisque, si qua in eorum ecclesias haeretic- 
orum largitas prava contulit, proprietati potestatique catholicae, sicut 
jam dudum statuimus, vindicatis." 



i 7 8 



POLITICS AND RELIGION 



decisions long ago rendered in this matter remaining in force 
and the law laid down by former princes being observed, — 
if from the day of the promulgation of this law all Donatists, 
priests, clerics, and laity, shall not have returned to the Cath- 
olic belief from which they have sacrilegiously departed, illus- 
tres shall each be fined fifty pounds of gold, spectabiles forty 
pounds of gold, senatores thirty pounds of gold, clarissimi 
twenty pounds of gold, sacerdotales thirty pounds of gold, 
principales twenty pounds of gold, decuriones five pounds of 
gold, negotiatores five pounds of gold, plebei five pounds of 
gold, circumcelliones ten pounds of silver. If on demand of 
the commissioner {executor) such persons are not produced 
by the lessees on whose estates they live or by the stewards of 
these estates, such lessees shall themselves be responsible for 
the fines, and not even the men of our own household shall 
have immunity from a judgment of this sort. Fines imposed 
upon husbands shall also operate separately against their 
wives. Upon those whom these penalties shall have failed to 
correct there shall be imposed confiscation of all their prop- 
erty. The admonition of the masters will recall slaves from 
their depraved religion and frequent whippings the coloni, 
unless the masters prefer to be held liable, even though they 
be Catholics, for the fine mentioned above. Let their clerics 
and their assistants and their most pernicious priests, re- 
moved from the African soil which they have polluted by 
their sacrilegious worship, be sent separately to different re- 
gions under a suitable guard. Their churches or meeting- 
places and their lands, if the depraved munificence of the 
heretics shall have conferred such possessions upon their 
churches, shall be taken over into Catholic ownership and 
control, as we have already decreed. 

Augustine summarizes the Emperor's edict as follows : x 

J " Everything, therefore, that was held in the name of the 

\/ churches of the party of Donatus was ordered by the 

1 Aug., Ep., 185, 9, 36. 



SUPPRESSION OF THE DONATISTS 179 

Christian emperors, in their pious laws, to pass to the 
Catholic Church, with the possession of the buildings them- 
selves." 

Marcellinus, who had directed the conference, remained 
in Africa till 413 as special commissioner (executor) for 
the Emperor. But he was under the careful supervision of 
Augustine. We possess numerous letters that passed be- 
tween Marcellinus and Augustine relative to the religious 
persecution. 1 Augustine wrote to Marcellinus in the year 
412: 2 

Although we might silently pass over the execution of crimi- 
nals who may be regarded as brought for trial not upon an 
accusation of ours, but by an indictment presented by those 
to whose vigilance the preservation of the public peace is en- 
trusted, we do not wish to have the suffering of the servants 
of God avenged by the infliction of precisely similar injuries 
in the way of retaliation. Not, of course, that we object to 
the removal from those wicked men of the liberty to perpe- 
trate further crimes; but our desire is rather that justice be 
satisfied without the taking of their lives or the maiming of 
their bodies in any part, and that, by such coercive measures 
as may be in accordance with the laws, they be turned from 
their insane frenzy to the quietness of men in their sound 
judgment, or compelled to give up mischievous violence and 
betake themselves to some useful labor. . . . 

Do not lose now that fatherly care which you maintained 
when prosecuting the examination, in doing which you ex- 
tracted the confession of such horrid crimes, not by stretching 
them on the rack, not by furrowing their flesh with iron 
claws, not by scorching them with flames, but by beating them 
with rods, — a mode of correction used by schoolmasters, and 
by parents themselves in chastising children, and often also by 
bishops in the sentences awarded by them. . . . The necessity 
for harshness is greater in the investigation than in the in- 

1 Aug., Epp., 133, 136, 138, 139, 143- 2 Ibid., 133. 



!8o POLITICS AND RELIGION 

fliction of punishment; for even the gentlest men use dili- 
gence and stringency in searching out a hidden crime, that 
they may find to whom they may show mercy. Wherefore it 
is generally necessary to use more rigor in making inquisition, 
so that when the crime has been brought to light, there may 
be scope for displaying clemency. . . 

In fine, you have been sent hither for the benefit of the 
Church. I solemnly declare that what I recommend is ex- 
pedient in the interests of the Catholic Church, or, that I 
may not seem to pass beyond the boundaries of my own 
charge, I protest that it is for the good of the Church belong- 
ing to the diocese of Hippo. If you do not harken to me 
asking this favor as a friend, harken to me offering this coun- 
sel as a bishop ; although, indeed, it would not be presumption 
for me to say — since I am addressing a Christian and espec- 
ially in such a case as this — that it becomes you to harken to 
me as a bishop commanding with authority. ... I am aware 
that the principal charge of law cases connected with the 
affairs of the Church has been devolved on your Excellency, 
but as I believe that this particular case belongs to the very 
illustrious and honorable proconsul, I have written a letter 
to him also, which I beg you not to refuse to give to him, or, 
if necessary, recommend to his attention; and I entreat you 
both not to resent our intercession or counsel, or anxiety, as 
officious. 

Another letter of 412 from Augustine to Marcellinus 
shows that the former's policy of forcible conversions 
through the medium of the rigor of the law was effica- 
cious. The letter reads : 1 

The acts which your Excellency promised to send me I am 
eagerly expecting, and I am longing to have them read as 
soon as possible in the church at Hippo, and also, if it can be 
done, in all the churches established within the diocese, that 
all may hear and become thoroughly familiar with the men 

1 Aug., Ep., 139. 



SUPPRESSION OF THE DONATISTS 181 

who have confessed their crimes, not because the fear of God 
subdued them to repentance, but because the rigor of their 
judges broke through the hardness of their most cruel hearts, 
. . . some of them persisting in the impiety of schism in 
fellowship with such a multitude of atrocious villains, while 
deserting the peace of the Catholic Church on the pretext of 
the unwillingness to be polluted by others' crimes ; others de- 
claring that they will not forsake the schismatics, even 
though the certainty of Catholic truth and the perver- 
sity of the Donatists have been demonstrated to them. The 
work, which it has pleased God to entrust to your diligence, 
is of great importance. My heart's desire is that many simi- 
lar Donatist cases may be tried and decided by you as these 
have been, and that in this way the crimes and the insane ob- 
stinacy of these men may be often brought to light ; and that 
the acts recording these proceedings may be published, and 
brought to the knowledge of all men. 

As to the statement in your letter, that you are uncertain 
whether you ought to commend the said acts to be published 
in Theoprepia, my reply is, let this be done, if a large mul- 
titude of hearers can be gathered there ; if this be not the case, 
some other place of more general resort must be provided; it 
must not, however, be omitted on any account. 

As to the punishment of these men, I beseech you, to make 
it something less severe than sentence of death, although they 
have, by their own confession, been guilty of such grievous 
crimes. I ask this out of regard both for our own consciences 
and for the testimony thereby given to Catholic clemency. 
For this is the special advantage secured to us by their con- 
fession, that the Catholic Church had found an opportunity of 
maintaining and exhibiting forbearance towards her most vio- 
lent enemies; since in a case where such cruelty was prac- 
tised, any punishment short of death will be seen by all men 
to proceed from great leniency. And although such treatment 
appears to some of our communion, whose minds are agitated 
by these atrocities, to be less than the crimes deserve, and to 
have somewhat the aspect of weakness and dereliction of 



J&2 POLITICS AND RELIGION 

duty, nevertheless when the feelings, which are wont to be im- 
moderately excited while such events are recent, have subsided 
after a time, the kindness shown to the guilty will shine with 
more conspicuous brightness, and men will take much more 
pleasure in reading these acts and showing them to others, my 
lord justly distinguished and son very much beloved and 
longed for. 

The laws were applied equally rigorously against Pri- 
mianists and Maximianists. 1 Buildings and goods were 
confiscated. 2 At Hippo the property of the Donatists was 
turned over to the Church of Augustine. 3 At Uzali and at 
Carthage the Donatist churches went to the Catholics. 4 The 
findings of the court were published and circulated together 
with the edict of Marcellinus. 5 Augustine got out an edi- 
tion of the proceedings together with an abridgment 
thereof. 6 These acts, Gesta Collationis, were read at the 
beginning of each year in many cities, as at Carthage, Tha- 
gasta, and Hippo. 7 And, as the Donatists continued to al- 
lege fraud, the Council of Numidia on the eleventh of June, 
412, decided to instruct the multitude by a synodal letter 
which Augustine wrote. In this Warning to the Dona- 
tists, he recounted the debates and drew conclusions. 8 Au- 
gustine preached many sermons on the subject 9 and wrote 
to the imperial commissioners, proconsuls, vicar and the 
newly converted. 10 He debated with Emeritus of Caesarea 

1 Aug., Ad. Donat. post Coll., 17, 21. 

2 Aug., Contr. Gaud., i, 36, 46; 37, 50; 38, 51. 

3 Aug., In Johan. Evang. Tract., vi, 25. 

4 Aug., Contr. Gaud., i, 6, 7. De Mirac. Sane. Steph., i, 7. 

5 Sententia Cognitoris. 6 Aug., Ret., ii, 65 ; Brev. Coll., i, Praef. 
1 Aug., Gesta cum Emer., 4. 

8 Aug., Ret., ii, 66; Ep., 141; Ad Donat. post Coll. 

9 Aug., Serm., 10, 99, 112, 138, 147, 164, 182, 183, 357, 358, 359; Enarr. 
in Ps., 67, 147; In Johan. Evang. Tract., iv-xii; Ep., 144, 1-3. 

10 Aug., Epp. 86, 133, 139, 142, 144, 151, 155, 185, 204 



SUPPRESSION OF THE DONATISTS 183 

and Gaudentius of Thamugadi. 1 And he composed, in ad- 
dition to his Ad Donatistas post Collationem 2 (412), De 
Correctione Donatistarum* (417), which contained a 
careful exposition of his attitude towards the legitimate 
use of persecution, and the laws of repression. It was ad- 
dressed to Count Boniface and reads : 4 

To Boniface, Concerning the Correction of the Donatists. . . . 
Let all be called to salvation, let all be recalled from the path 
of destruction, — those who may, by sermons of Catholic 
preachers; those who may, by edicts of Catholic princes. . . . 
Whosoever, therefore, refuses to obey the laws of the Em- 
perors which are enacted against the truth of God, wins for 
himself a great reward; but whosoever refuses to obey the 
laws of the Emperors which are enacted in behalf of truth, 
wins for himself great condemnation. . . . 

. . . Again I ask, if good and holy men never inflict perse- 
cution upon anyone, but only suffer it, whose words do they 
think those are in the psalms where we read, " I have per- 
sued mine enemies, and overtaken them; neither did I turn 
again till they were consumed " ? If, therefore, we wish 
either to declare or to recognize the truth, there is a persecu- 
tion of unrighteousness, which the impious inflict upon the 
Church of Christ; and there is a righteous persecution, which 
the Church of Christ inflicts upon the impious. She, there- 
fore, is blessed in suffering persecution for righteousness' 
sake; but they are miserable, suffering persecution for un- 
righteousness. Moreover, she persecutes in the spirit of love, 
they in the spirit of wrath ; she that she may correct, they that 
they may overthrow; she that she may recall from error, 
they that they may drive headlong into error. Finally, she 
persecutes her enemies and arrests them, until they become 

1 Aug., Ret., ii, J2 ; ii, J7 ; ii, 85. 

2 Ibid., ii, 66. 

3 Ibid., ii, 74 ; Ep., 185. 

4 Aug., Ep., 185 (417 A. D.). 



1 84 



POLITICS AND RELIGION 



weary in their vain opinions, so that they should make ad- 
vance in the truth ; but they returning evil for good, because 
we take measures for their good, to secure their eternal salva- 
tion, endeavor even to strip us of our temporal safety, being 
so in love with murder, that they commit it on their own per- 
sons when they cannot find victims in any others. For in pro- 
portion as the Christian charity of the Church endeavors to 
deliver them from that destruction, so that none of them shall 
die, so their madness endeavors either to slay us, that they 
may feed the lust of their own cruelty, or even to kill them- 
selves, that they may not seem to have lost the power of 
putting men to death. . . . 

Whence it appears that great mercy is shown towards them, 
when by the force of those very imperial laws they are in the 
first instance rescued against their will from that sect in 
which, through the teaching of lying devils, they learned those 
evil doctrines, so that afterwards they might be made whole 
in the Catholic Church. . . 

It is indeed better (as no one ever could deny) that men 
should be led to worship God by teaching, than that they 
should be driven to it by fear of punishment or pain; but it 
does not follow that because the former course produces the 
better men, therefore those who do not yield to it should be 
neglected. . . . Some, indeed, set before us the sentiments of 
a certain secular author who said, " Tis well, I ween, by 
shame the young to train, and dread of meanness, rather than 
by pain." This is unquestionably true. But whilst those are 
better who are guided aright by love, those are certainly more 
numerous who are corrected by fear. . . . For in another 
place he says that not only the servant, but also the undis- 
ciplined son, must be corrected with stripes, and that with 
great fruits as the result ; for he says : " Thou shalt beat him 
with the rod, and thou shalt deliver him from hell." . . . 

Why, therefore, should not the Church use force in com- 
pelling her lost sons to return, if the lost sons compelled 
others to their destruction? . . . Since then they cannot show 
that the destination is bad to which they are compelled, they 



SUPPRESSION OF THE DONATISTS 185 

maintain that they ought not to be compelled by force even 
to what is good. . . . 

And as to the charge that they bring against us, that we 
covet and plunder their possessions, I would that they would 
become Catholics, and possess in peace and love with us, not 
only what they call theirs, but also what confessedly belongs 
to us. But they are so blinded with the desire of uttering 
calumnies, that they do not observe how inconsistent their 
statements are with one another. At any rate, they assert, 
and seem to make it a subject of most invidious complaint 
among themselves, that we constrain them to come into our 
communion by violent authority of the laws, — which we cer- 
tainly should not do by any means, if we wished to gain pos- 
session of their property. . . . 

Conversions were innumerable; great multitudes re- 
turned to the Church, 1 even whole cities at a time, 2 as 
Caesarea in Mauritania and Fussala near Hippo. 3 And, as 
we shall see later, the Councils were actively engaged in 
restoring the converted to a position in the Church. 4 

The Catholic triumph was stoutly resisted in places. In 
Numidia and Mauritania partisans for reconciliation were 
in the minority and the masses were terrified by the all 
powerful fanatics. 5 The majority of the Donatist bishops 
were fatihful to their principles. 6 Some resisted conversion 

1 Aug., Ep., 204, 1, " Ingentes eorum multitudines " ; Ep., 185, 2, 7 ; 
3, 13; 8, 32-33; Contr. Gaud., i, 24, 27; Epp., 142; 144; 208; Possid., 
op. cit, 15. 

2 Aug., Gest. cum Emer., 2. 
8 Aug., Ep., 209, 2. 

4 Cf. infra, pp. 195-196. 

5 Aug., Ep., 185, 7, 30. 

6 Ibid., 141, 1, 12; Aug., Brev. Coll., iii, 18, 36; Ad Donat. post Coll., 
i, 1; 4, 6; 12, 16; 13, 17; 17, 21; 19, 25; 34, 57; 38, 58; Ret, ii, 66; 
Possid., op. cit, 16. 



l%6 POLITICS AND RELIGION 

even at the risk of their lives. 1 Many were exiled, 2 some 
committed suicide. 3 Churches that had been taken away 
were burned, 4 and the circumcelliones raged against the 
converted and the propagandists, 5 they burned the houses 
of clerics, churches and sacred books. 6 Any hesitancy on 
the part of the orthodox clergy to face the situation caused 
the Councils to threaten excommunication for neglect of 
duty in regaining the Donatists. 7 

Marcellinus quite naturally had made many enemies and 
when he and his brother, the proconsul Apringus, were ac- 
cused as accomplices in the revolt of Heraclian, not even 
the most strenuous efforts of their friends, the Catholic 
bishops (who even appealed to Rome in their behalf) 
could save their lives. They were executed by Count Mari- 
nus at Carthage on the thirteenth of September, 413. Cae- 
cilianus succeeded Marcellinus, but before he could gain the 
support of the African men of moment he was forced to 
convince Augustine and the orthodox that he had not been 
instrumental in the overthrow of their former champion, 
Marcellinus. 8 This change of leaders was looked upon as 
a reaction by the heretics as well as by the orthodox. The 
Donatists pretended that the condemnation of Marcellinus 
entailed the annulment of all his acts, including the sen- 
tence of the year 411 and the edicts of proscription. The 
government, however, had its policies definitely in mind and 
so issued on the thirtieth of August, 414, a confirmation of 

1 Aug., Ep., 173, 1 and 4. 

2 Aug., Contr. Gaud., i, 14, 15; 16, 17; 18, 19. 

3 Aug., Ep., 204, 1-2 ; Contr. Gaud., i, 37, 47. 

4 Ibid., i, 6, 7. 

6 Aug., Epp., 133, 1; 134, 2; 139, 1-2. 

6 Aug., Ep., 185, 7, 30 ; Gest. cum Enter., 9 ; Possid., op. cit., 15. 

1 Cod. Can. Ecc. Af., Can., 123-124. 

8 Aug., Ep., 151, 3-9; cf. Oros., op. cit, vii, 42. 



SUPPRESSION OF THE DONATISTS 187 

all the acts of the previous administration : x " Whatever 
has been enacted against the Donatists by the care and 
solicitude of Marcellinus, we will that this be transcribed 
in the public records and given perpetual force. For a 
public trust ought not to perish with the death of the ad- 
vocate." 

And by a law of the seventeenth of June, 414, the Em- 
peror ordered Julian, the proconsul, to proceed against the 
heretics : 

We decree that the Donatists and other heretics, whom till 
now our clemency has protected, are to be suppressed by the 
competent authority. By clear statements they are to be given 
to understand that they are to be incapable of testating or of 
entering into any contract, and that, branded with perpetual 
infamy, they are to be segregated from honorable gatherings 
and public meetings. Those places in which up till now the 
dire superstition has been maintained are to be given over to 
the venerable Catholic Church ; and all their bishops, presby- 
ters, priests and ministers are to be despoiled of all their pos- 
sessions and sent in exile to separate islands and provinces. 
And if anyone shall have received and sought to conceal per- 
sons fleeing from the ordained punishment, let him know that 
his patrimony is to be confiscated and that he himself must 
undergo the punishment decreed against these persons. 
Losses of property and the fines that are to be imposed upon 
men, women, individuals and dignitaries we fix definitely ac- 
cording to their rank. If anyone shall have been inducted 
into the office of proconsul, vicar or count of the first order, 
and has not turned his mind and purpose to the observance 
of the Catholic faith, let them be fined two hundred pounds of 

1 Cod. Theod., xvi, 5, 55. " Juliano Proconsuli Africae. Notione 
et sollicitudine Marcellinj spectabilis memoriae viri contra Donatistas 
gesta sunt ea, quae translata in publica monumenta habere volumus 
perpetuam firmitatem. Neque enim morte cognitoris perire debet pub- 
lica fides." 



!88 POLITICS AND RELIGION 

silver. And lest it be thought that this alone may suffice to 
bar further prosecution, as often as he shall be proved to have 
participated in such communion, so often let the fine be col- 
lected, and if after five times it is found that he has not been 
recalled from error by amercements, then let it be referred to 
our clemency to judge more severely concerning his entire 
estate and position. Other men of rank (honor ati) we sub- 
ject to conditions of this sort, to wit: a senator who is pro- 
tected by no additional privilege of office, if found in the herd 
of Donatists, is to pay a fine of one hundred pounds of silver ; 
those who have held priestly office shall be obliged to pay the 
same; the ten leading curials, fifty pounds; the other decur- 
ions, ten pounds of silver, in so far as they prefer to remain 
in heresy. The lessees of our domains, if they shall have 
permitted these practices on lands that form part of our ven- 
erable property, shall be forced to pay as a penalty the same 
amount that they have been accustomed to pay as rent. Let 
the same provision of this our sacred decree apply to those 
who hold in emphyteusis. Furthermore, if the lessees of 
private property allow conventicles to be held on these es- 
tates or if the sacred mysteries shall have been polluted 
through their indulgence, let the judges refer it to the atten- 
tion of the owners, whose business it shall be if they wish to 
evade the punishment of this sacred command, either to cor- 
rect the erring or to cancel the leases of those persisting, and 
to provide for their lands masters who keep the divine com- 
mands. If they neglect to attend to these matters they shall 
be fined, under the provisions of duly promulgated law, to the 
amount of the rents which they are accustomed to receive, so 
that whatever might have enured to their private resources 
shall be confiscated to our treasury. Assistants of the various 
provincial judges who shall be detected in this error are to be 
fined thirty pounds of silver; and if after having been fined 
five times they are unwilling to abstain, let them be flogged 
and sent into exile. The severest constraint shall be employed 
to keep slaves and coloni from such audacities. If coloni, cor- 
rected by the lash, shall persist in this purpose, let them be 



SUPPRESSION OF THE DONATISTS 189 

fined a third part of their personal property. And let all 
that may be collected from men or places of this sort be turned 
over to our treasury. 1 

1 Cod. Theod., xvi, 5, 54. " Juliano Proc. Af ric. Donatistas ad- 
que haereticos, quos patientia ciementiae nostrae nunc usque servavit, 
conpetenti constituimus auctoritate percelli, quatenus evidenti prae- 
ceptione se agnoscant et intestabiles et nullam potestatem alicuius 
ineundi habere contractus, sed perpetua inustos infamia a coetibus 
honestis et a conventu publico segregandos. Ea vero loca, in quibus 
dira superstitio nunc usque servata est, catholicae venerabili ecclesiae 
socientur, ita ut episcopi presbyteri omnesque antistites eorum et min- 
istri spoliati omnibus facultatibus ad singulas quasque insulas adque 
provincias exulandi gratia dirigantur. Quisque autem hos fugientes 
propositam ultionem occultandi causa susceperit, sciat et patrimonium 
suum fisci nostri conpendiis adgregandum et se poenam, quae his pro- 
positi est, subiturum. Damna quoque patrimonii poenasque pecuniar- 
ias evidenter inponimus viris mulieribus, personis singulis et dignitat- 
ibus pro qualitate sui quae debeant inrogari. Si igitur proconsular! 
aut vicariano vel comitivae primi ordinis quisque fuerit honore sub- 
cinctus, nisi ad observantiam catholicam mentem propositumque con- 
verterit, ducentas argenti libras cogetur exsolvere fisci nostri utilitatibus 
adgregandas. Ac ne id solum putetur ad Tesecandam intentionem posse 
sufficere, quotienscumque ad communionem talem accessisse fuerit con- 
futatus, totiens multam exigatur, et si quinquies eundem constiterit 
nee damnis ab errore revocari, tunc ad nostram clementiam referatur, 
ut de solida eius substantia ac de statu acerbius judicemus. Huiusmodi 
autem condicionibus etiam honoratos reliquos obligamus, scilicet ut 
senator, qui nullo munitus extrinsecus privilegio dignitatis, inventus 
in grege Donatistarum centum libras solvat argenti, sacerdotales eandem 
summam cogantur exsolvere, decern primi curiales quinquaginta libras 
argenti addicantur, reliqui decuriones X solvant libras argenti, qui- 
cumque in haeresi maluerint permanere. Conductores autem domus 
nostrae si haec in praediis venerabilis substantiae uti permiserint, 
tantum pensione poenae nomine cogantur inferre, quantum in con- 
ductione pensitare consuerunt. Eadem quoque enfyteuticarios auctori- 
tas sacrae defmitionis adstringet. Conductores vero privatorum si 
permiserint in isdem praediis conventicula haberi vel eorum patientia 
sacrum mysterium fuerit inquinatum, referatur per judices ad scientiam 
dominorum, quorum intererit, si poenam volunt sacrae jussionis evadere, 
aut errantes corrigere aut perseverantes commutare ac tales , praediis 
suis praebere rectores, qui divina praecepta custodiant. Quod si pro- 
curare neglexerint, hi quoque in pensiones, quas accipere consuerunt, 
prolatae praeceptionis auctoritate multentur, ut, quod ad conpendia 



ig POLITICS AND RELIGION 

All former enactments were renewed by the law of the 
twenty-fifth of August, 415, which reads: " Let all who 
have corrupted their rites with heretical superstition know 
that, if hereafter in the rash purpose of carrying on their 
criminal practices they shall endeavor to assemble in public, 
they are to be visited with proscription of goods and capital 
punishment, as enemies of sacrosanct law, to the end that 
true and divine reverence may not be defiled." x 

The successor of Honorius, Valentinian III, carried out 
these same policies regarding the African heretics and 
pagans. He issued the following law of the sixth of July, 
or of the fourth of August, 425 : "To Georgius, proconsul 
of Africa. We follow up all heresies, all breaches of faith, 
all schisms and heathen superstitions and all errors hostile 
to the Catholic law. If anyone ... let the penalty estab- 
lished by our clemency attach to the acts, and let the authors 
of sacrilegious superstition and those who knowingly par- 
ticipate therein understand that they are to be punished 
with proscription, to the end that, if they cannot be drawn 
back from the error of faithlessness by reason, they may at 
least be summoned back by terror, and, all recourse in the 
way of petition being forever denied, they may be pun- 

eorum pervenire poterat, sacro jungatur aerario. Officiates autem diver- 
sorum judicum si in hoc errore fuerint deprehensi, ad triginta librarum 
argenti inlationem poenae nomine teneantur, ita ut, si quinquies con- 
demnati abstinere noluerint, coherciti verberibus exilio mancipentur. 
Servos vero et colonos cohercitio ab huiusmodi ausibus severissima 
vindicabit. Ac si coloni verberibus coacti in proposito perduraverint, 
tunc tertia peculii sui parte multentur. Adque omnia, quae ex huius- 
modi generibus hominum locisque colligi poterunt, ad largitiones sacras 
ilico dirigantur." 

1 Cod. Theod., xvi, 5, 56. " Heracliano Com. Afric. Sciant cuncti, 
qui ritus suos haeresi superstitionis obrepserant, sacrosanctae legis 
inimici plectendos se poena et proscribtionis et sanguinis, si ultra con- 
venire per publicum exercendi sceleris sui temeritate tempaverint, ne 
qua vera divinaque reverentia contagione temeretur." 



SUPPRESSION OF THE DONATISTS 191 

ished with the severity due their crimes." x And another 
law of the sixth of August, 425, reads : " We command the 
Manichaeans, heretics or schismatics, and every sect hos- 
tile to the Catholic faith be thrust out of the very sight of 
the various cities, that these may not be defiled by the con- 
tagion of the presence of the guilty. We therefore com- 
mand that all persons who are tainted with these unhappy 
errors be excluded unless timely amendment come to their 
aid." 2 A law of the thirtieth of May, 428, confirms all 
of the previous laws. It reads: 

The madness of the heretics is to be repressed as follows, to 
wit: In the first place if anywhere they hold churches which 
they have taken from the orthodox, let them not doubt that 
these are to be turned over to the Catholic Church, for it is 
not to be tolerated that those who ought not to have churches 
of their own should hold any longer those possessed or estab- 
lished by the orthodox, which in their boldness they have in- 
vaded. In the next place, if they join to themselves other 
clerics, or, as they fancy, priests, let a fine of ten pounds of 
gold be exacted from each individual who may have done this 
or suffered it to be done and let this be paid into our treasury ; 
and if poverty be alleged, let the fine be collected from the en- 
tire body of the clergy of the same superstition or from the 

1 Ibid., xvi, 5, 63. " Georgio Proconsuli Af ricae. Omnes haereses 
omnesque perfidias, omnia schismata superstitionesque gentilium, 
omnes catholicae legi inimicos insectamur errores. Si quos vero . . . 
haec quoque clementiae nostrae statuta poena comitetur et noverint 
sacrilegae superstitionis auctores participes conscios proscribtione plec- 
tendos, ut ab errore perfidiae, si ratione retrahi nequeunt, saltern ter- 
rore revocentur et universo supplicationum aditu in perpetuum deneg- 
ato criminibus debita severitate plectantur." 

2 Cod. Theod., xvi, 5, 64. " Basso Comiti Rerum Privatarum. Post 
alia; Manichaeos haereticos sive schismaticos omnemque sectam cath- 
olicis inimicam ab aspectu urbium diversarum exterminari praecip- 
imus, ut nee praesentiae criminosorum contagione foedentur. Omnes 
igitur personas erroris infausti jubemus excludi, nisi his emendatio 
matura subvenerit." 



ig 2 POLITICS AND RELIGION 

votive offerings. Furthermore, since all are not to be punished 
with the same austerity, let it not be permitted to the Arians, 
Macedonians, and Apollinarians, whose crime is that, deceived 
by evil meditation, they believe lies concerning the source of 
truth, to have a church in any city; from the Novatians and 
Sabbatians let all license for innovation be taken away, if by 
chance they attempt any ; let not the Eunomians, Valentinians, 
Montanists or Priscillianists, Phrygians, Marcianists, Borbor- 
ians, Messalians, Euchitae or Enthusiastae, Donatists, Audi- 
ans, Hydroparastats, Tascodrogits, Photians, Palians, Mar- 
cellians or the Manichaeans, who have reached the very vilest 
depth of sin, be allowed to assemble and pray anywhere on 
Roman soil. And let the Manichaeans, furthermore, be ex- 
pelled from the cities. For to none of all these should any 
place be left where wrong may be done to the very elements. 
No imperial service should be permitted them except in the 
provincial guards and the camps. No right whatever is con- 
ceded of making or taking gifts or of leaving or receiving 
property by testament or last will. All the laws framed and 
promulgated long ago and at diverse times against these and 
the others who oppose our faith are to be forever in full force 
and active observance, whether they relate to donations made 
to the churches of the heretics, or to goods left by last will in 
whatever form, or to those private buildings in which they 
assemble with the consent or connivance of the owner and 
which are to be taken over by us for the Catholic Church, or 
to the steward who does this without the knowledge of the 
owner and who is to be fined ten pounds of gold or exiled, if 
he be a free man, or deported to the mines after having been 
flogged, if he be of servile condition; the purpose of all these 
laws being that they shall not be permitted to convene in a 
public place or to build churches for themselves or to plan any 
evasion of the laws, all aid, civil or military, whether of the 
curiae or the defensores or the judges being denied them under 
the penalty of a fine of twenty pounds of gold. All those laws, 
moreover, remain in force which have been promulgated con- 
cerning the imperial service, concerning the complete denial 



SUPPRESSION OF THE DONATISTS 



193 



of the right of donation and testation or the concession of 
such right under restrictions to certain persons and concern- 
ing varying penalties in the case of different heretics; pro- 
vided always that no special exemption obtained contrary to 
the laws shall be valid. To none of the heretics shall it be 
permitted to rebaptize freemen or their own slaves who have 
already been initiated into the mysteries of the orthodox; nor 
to prohibit those whom they may have bought or whom they 
possess under any title and who are not yet adherents of their 
superstition from following the religion of the Catholic 
Church. Whoever does this or, being a free-born man, allows 
it to be done to him or does not report the deed, shall be con- 
demned to exile and a fine of ten pounds of gold, and in either 
case there shall be forfeiture of the right of testament and 
donation. All of this we order so executed that no judge may 
direct that a crime, made known to him, be visited with a 
lesser punishment or go entirely unpunished, unless he be pre- 
pared to suffer that penalty which by his dissimulation he has 
spared others. 1 

1 Cod. Theod., xvi, 5, 65. " Florentio P. P. Haereticorum ita est 
reprimenda insania, ut ante omnia quas ab orthodoxis abreptas tenent 
ubicumque ecclesias statim catholicae ecclesiae tradendas esse non 
ambigant, quia ferri non potest, ut, qui nee proprias habere debuerant, 
ab orthodoxis possessas aut conditas suaque temeritate invasas ultra 
detineant. Dein ut, si alios sibi adjungant clericos vel, ut ipsi aestim- 
ant, sacerdotes, decern librarum auri multa per singulos ab eo, qui 
fecerit et qui fieri passus sit vel, si paupertatem praetendant, de com- 
muni clericorum eiusdem superstitionis corpore vel etiam donariis 
ipsis extorta nostro inferatur aerario. Post haec, quoniam non omnes 
eadem austeritate plectendi sunt, Arrianis quidem, Macedonianis et 
Apollinarianis, quorum hoc est facinus, quod nocenti meditatione de- 
cepti credunt de veritatis fonte mendacia, intra nullam civitatem eccle- 
siam habere liceat ; Novatianis autem et Sabbatianis omnis innovationis 
adimatur licentia, si quam forte temptaverint ; Eunomiani vero, Valen- 
tiniani, Montanistae seu Priscillianistae, Fryges, Marcianistae, Borbori- 
ani, Messaliani, Euchitae sive Enthusiastae, Donatistae, Audiani, Hy- 
droparastatae, Tascodrogitae, Fotiniani, Pauliani, Marcelliani et qui ad 
imam usque scelerum nequitiam pervenerunt Manichaei nusquam in 
Romano solo conveniendi orandique habeant facultatem; Manichaeis 



I94 POLITICS AND RELIGION 

After the Donatists had been deprived of legal rights 
and penalties had been instituted against the heresy, careful 
oversight on the part of the officials and clergy resulted in 
numerous conversions. The African Councils were busy 
with plans for the reorganization necessitated by the influx 
of reconciled communities. A Council of Byzance in May, 
418, decided " that the reconciliation of the converted 
schismatics ought to be effected by the simple laying on of 
hands." x And at least two hundred of the bishops as- 

etiam de civitatibus expellendis, quoniam nihil his omnibus reliquen- 
dum loci est, in quo ipsis etiam dementis fiat injuria. Nulla his peni- 
tus praeter cohortalinam in provinciis et castrensem indulgenda militia; 
nullo donationis faciendae invicem, nullo testamenti aut voluntatis ul- 
timae penitus jure concesso, cunctisque legibus, quae contra hos ceteros- 
que, qui nostrae fidei refragantur, olim latae sunt diversisque promul- 
gatae temporibus, semper viridi observantia valituris, sive de donation- 
ibus in haereticorum factis ecclesias, sive ex ultima voluntate rebus 
qualitercumque relictis, sive de privatis aedificiis, in quae domino per- 
mittente vel conivente convenerint, venerandae nobis catholicae vin- 
dicandis ecclesiae, sive de procuratore, qui hoc nesciente domino 
fecerit, decern librarum auri multam vel exilium, si sit ingenuus, sub- 
ituro, metallum vero post verbera, si servilis condicionis sit; ita ut 
nee in publico convenire loco nee aedificare sibi ecclesias nee ad cir- 
cumscribtionem legum quicquam meditari valeant, omni civili et mil- 
itari, curiarum etiam et defensorum et judicum sub viginti librarum 
auri interminatione prohibendi auxilio. Illis etiam in sua omnibus 
manentibus firmitate, quae de militia et donandi jure ac testamenti 
factione vel neganda penitus vel in certas vix concessa personas poenis- 
que variis de diversis sunt haereticis promulgatae, ita ut nee speciale 
quidem beneficium adversus leges valeat impetratum. Nulli haere- 
ticorum danda licentia vel ingenuos vel servos proprios, qui orthodox- 
orum sunt initiati mysteriis, ad suum rursus baptisma deducendi, nee 
vero illos, quos emerint vel qualitercumque habuerint necdum suae 
superstitioni cunjunctos, prohibendi catholicae sequi religionem eccles- 
iae. Quod qui fecerit vel, cum ingenuus, in se fieri passus sit vel 
factum non detulerit, exilio ac decern librarum auri multa damnabitur, 
testamenti et donationis faciendae utrique deneganda licentia. Quae 
omnia ita custodiri decernimus, ut nulli judicum liceat delatum ad se 
crimen minori aut nulli cohercitioni mandare, nisi ipse id pati velit,. 
quod aliis dissimulando concesserit." 
1 Ferrandus, Breviatio*, Can., 174. 



SUPPRESSION OF THE DONATISTS 



195 



sembled in the sixteenth Council of Carthage in May, 418, 
passed a series of eleven canons relative to conversions and 
the delimitation of dioceses. 1 The canons are as follows: 

Can. 9 (117). It was ordered by a fall council some years 
ago that communities which, before the publication of the im- 
perial laws against Donatists, had already become Catholic, 
should become part of the diocese of those bishops who had 
converted them to Catholicism; but if they had entered into 
the communion of the church after the publication of these 
laws they should be attributed to the dioceses to which they 
really belonged during the time that they were Donatists. 
This ordinance having occasioned and still causing many dif- 
ferences between the bishops, the following has been decided : 
Whenever in any place whatsoever, a Catholic Church and a 
Donatist church are neighboring and belong to different dio- 
ceses, the two should make part of the diocese to which the 
Catholic Church belongs, no matter whether the Donatist 
party has been converted before or after the publication of 
the imperial laws. 

, Can. 10 (118). If the Donatist bishop is converted, the two 
bishops (he and the Catholic) ought to divide the diocese into 
parts, so that the one part shall obey the one, and the other 
the other. The bishop that was ordained first shall make the 
division and the other have the first choice; if there be any 
part over which they are undecided, it shall pertain to the one 
who is nearest. If the two episcopal seats are equally distant, 
the people shall decide by a majority vote; if there be a ballot, 
the more ancient bishop shall preside. But if the places to be 
divided are of a population so unequal that a perfect equality 
can not be established, the locality which shall remain after 
the division should be treated as is ordered done (in the pro- 
ceeding canon) for a particular locality. 

Can. 11 (119). If after the publication of this law, a 
bishop shall have restored a locality to the Catholic unity, and 

1 Hefele, op. cit., ii, 1, 190-196; Harduin, op. cit., i, 930; Mansi, op. 
cit., iii, 810-823; iv, 377; Cod. Can. Ecc. Aj., can. 117-125, 123-124. 



196 POLITICS AND RELIGION 

shall hold it under his jurisdiction for three years without any 
contestation, it may not be taken from him. . . But if a Dona- 
tist bishop be converted, this delay shall cause him no preju- 
dice, for there are three years from the date of his conversion 
for reclaiming the places which may have been taken from 
his see. 

Can. 12 (120). When a bishop, believing that he has right 
over a church, tries to take it into his power, not by an epis- 
copal judgment but otherwise, he loses by so doing all his rights 
at the exact moment when another bishop opposes his pre- 
tensions. 

Can. 13 (121). When a bishop shows no zeal for restor- 
ing the localities of his circumspection to the Catholic unity, 
let the neighboring bishops remonstrate. If during six months 
he does not give heed, let these localities be adjudged to what- 
ever bishop shall gain them to the Church. ... In a doubtful 
case let the primate of the two parties name arbitrators. 

Can. 14 (122). One ought not to appeal from judges whom 
he has chosen of his own accord. 

Can. 15 (123). When in his church a bishop shows no zeal 
against heretics, let the neighboring bishops remonstrate with 
him. If six months pass without the restoration of the heretics 
although the commissioners have been in the province, he shall 
be refused the Catholic communion until he shall have ef- 
fected the restoration. 

Can. 16 (124). If he affirms that he has restored the here- 
tics to communion and this be not so, let him lose his bishopric. 

Can. 17 (125). When the priests, deacons and lesser clerics 
feel that they must complain of a judgment delivered by their 
bishop, they should, with the consent of this bishop, address 
the neighboring bishops, who shall judge the difference. If 
they wish to appeal further, they shall address their primate 
or the African Council. Whoever shall appeal to a tribunal 
beyond the sea (Rome) will be excommunicated. 

The Donatist party was not exterminated. Circum- 
celliones still raged, 1 and a Donatist Council of more 

1 Aug., Gest. cum Emer., 12. 



SUPPRESSION OF THE DONATISTS 



197 



than thirty bishops was held in Numidia at about the same 
time that the Council of Carthage was in session (418). 
One of the canons of this council declared that priests and 
bishops converted by force would obtain grace and con- 
serve their dignities in the Donatist Church if they had 
neither officited nor preached in the church of " tradi- 
tores" They continued to ordain bishops. 1 Dulcitus, an- 
other of the special commissioners sent out by the Em- 
peror, promulgated two edicts on the application of the 
law of repression for the restoration of unity 2 which re- 
sulted in many conversions and even in that of some of the 
circumcelliones. 3 Yet despite all efforts many remained ir- 
reconciled; and among them were Petilian of Constantine, 
Emeritus of Caesarea, and Gaudentius of Thamugadi, who 
wrote a polemic against Augustine about the year 420. 4 

1 Aug., Contr. Gaud., i, 37, 47-48. 

8 Aug., Ep.. 204. 3; Contr. Gaud., i, 1, 1 ; i, 19, 21; ii, 31, 40; Ret., 
ii, 85. 

3 Ibid., i, 11, 12; i, 12, 13; i, S3> 42-43 5 h *4> *5; h 16, 17; i, 18, 19. 

* Aug., Gest. cum Emer., 1; Serm. ad Caesar. Ecc. pleb., 6; Contr. 

Gaud., i, 14, 15; i, 29, 33 ; i, 1, 1 ; i, 11, 12; Ret., ii, 77; ii, 85; Ep., 204, 
1, 9; Possid., op. cit., 16; C. I. <L., vii, 21570, 21571-21574. 



CHAPTER VIII 
The Manichaeans, Pelagians and Arians 



The Manichaeans had been the first of Augustine's 
heretical opponents. Even before his ordination, he had 
written much against them : De Libero Arbitrio, De Genesi 
adversus Manichaeos, De Moribus Ecclesiae Catholicae, 
De Moribus Manichaeorum, De Vera Religione — the five 
works which were spoken of by Paul as " Augustine's Anti- 
Manichaean Pentateuch." 1 After his return to Africa and 
his ordination, Augustine continued his work against this 
sect. In fact he was so active against them during his 
earlier career that Cassiodorus has said that " he discoursed 
against these heretics more diligently and with keener force 
than against any other." 2 His African polemics were: 
De Utilitate Credendi (391), De Duabus Animabus (391), 
Disputatio contra Fortunatum (392), Contra Adimantum 
(397), Contra Epistolam Manichaei quam vocant Funda- 
menti ( c 397), Contra Faustum ( c 40o), De Actis cum 
Felice Manichaeo (407), and De Natura Boni and Contra 
Secundinum Manichaeum. 

Though he wrote much against this heresy, his attitude 
towards it was vastly different from that which we have 
seen him exhibiting toward the Donatists and the pagans. 

1 Aug., Ep., 25, 2. 

2 Cassiodorus, Institutes, 1, " diligentius atque vivacius adversus eos 
quam contra haereses alias disseruit." 

198 



THE MANICHAEANS, PELAGIANS AND ARIANS 199 

This, as he himself explained, was due to the fact that 
he had formerly been a member of their faith. 1 "Let those 
rage against you who have never been led astray in the way 
they see that you are set. For my part, I can on no account 
deal harshly with you, for I must bear with you now as 
formerly I had to bear with myself, and I must be as 
patient toward you as my associates were with me, when I 
went madly and blindly astray in your beliefs." We 
gather, as well, that when Augustine had developed his 
great control over the African situation, he was then able 
to lighten the persecution of this sect. At least after the 
year 408, he ceased even to write against them; although 
we know that they continued to have considerable power 
in Africa. In fact, Augustine and his party favored the 
Manichaeans to such an extent that their Donatist op- 
ponents could claim that they, in practice if not in outward 
manifestation, were Manichaeans. 

This sect, if not particularly persecuted by Augustine, 
received a very different treatment from the government. 
Diocletian ( c 290) issued a very severe edict against them. 
This is preserved in the Haenel edition of the Codex Gre- 
gorianus. 2 It is directed against them primarily as the cult 
of the Persian enemy and we may surmise that the con- 
tinued and intolerant edicts of the subsequent emperors, 
issued even in the times when the clergy were not interested 
in this particular sect, are the results of something about 
the religion that was held to be hostile to the state itself. 
For it is interesting, and apparently significant, that in the 
days when the emperors were issuing edicts regarding this 
sect neither Ambrose nor Jerome were concerned with 
them. 

1 Aug., Contr. Epist. Fundam., 2-3. 

2 Codex Gregorianus, iv. Edition Haenel (Bonn, 1837). 



200 POLITICS AND RELIGION 

At the time of Augustine, this dualistic doctrine of light 
and darkness, good and evil, had been a familiar one in 
Africa for at least a hundred years and was widespread. 
From the above-mentioned law of Diocletian, we know that 
Manichaeanism had taken root in Rome before the begin- 
ning of the fourth century. An edict had been issued to 
drive its followers from this city. 1 Many indeed had gone 
to Africa and we find that the Roman bishop, Anastasius 
(399-401), was afraid that these might return to Rome. 
As a consequence he resolved to admit into ecclesiastical 
orders at Rome only those transmaritimes who could pro- 
duce a letter signed by five bishops. 2 

Augustine's combats with the Manichaeans were limited 
to arguments with their leaders. We possess accounts of 
two such encounters. He entered upon the first, held in 
August of the year 392, at the request of his fellow Chris- 
tians, both Donatist and Catholic. This was a public con- 
ference with Fortunatus, the savant of the Manichaean 
party, and the discussion appears to have been rather mild 
and amicable. 3 Fortunatus on his part would direct the 
inquiry toward the conduct of the two parties; Augustine 
would treat only of doctrine. We are forced to rely on 
Augustine's account for what took place but according to 
this, Fortunatus was defeated and left Hippo. 4 If he did 
leave, it was surely from conviction or at most because of 
ridicule, not from any compulsion on the part of his op- 
ponent, for at this period Augustine was in no case favor- 
able to the use of force ; that, he claimed, would only make 
hypocrites. 5 

1 Cod. Theod., xvi, 5, 3 (372 A. D.). 

2 Harduin, op. cit, i, 973, decreta 2-3 ; Liber PontiUcalis, i, 218 ; 
Gregory the Great, Ep., ii, 3, 7. 

5 Possid., op. cit., 5 and 6. 

4 Aug., Contr. Fortun., i; Ret, i, 14, 15, 16; Possid., op. cit., 6. 

6 Aug., De Musica; In Faust., v, 1, 8. 



THE MANICHAEANS, PELAGIANS AND ARIANS 2 OI 

We have no direct statement as to whether the Mani- 
chaeans took part in the revolt of Gildo, which occurred 
between Augustine's first and second encounters with them. 
But we do know that they were made subject to the re- 
pressive measures which followed. On the seventeenth of 
May, 399, the Emperor issued the following rescript to 
Dominator, the vicar of Africa : x " By special rescript we 
decree the suppression of the criminal Manichaeans and 
their execrable assemblages, already condemned by just 
censure. To this end let them be sought out and brought 
into the public place and let them when proven to be crimi- 
nals be restrained by suitable and very severe correction. 
Let the stings of authority be turned against those who 
protect them in their homes with a care that is worthy of 
condemnation." The Manichaeans gloried in the perse- 
cution that followed and boasted that they were persecuted 
for the sake of justice. Yet we know from the case of 
Faustus that they were not harshly treated. It was Faustus 
who in the year 400 called forth Augustine's Reply to 
Faustus, the Manichaean. Faustus having been proven to 
be a Manichaean was banished. The mildness of this sen- 
tence was the result of the request of the bishops to the 
proconsul. 2 

On the seventh and eighth of December, 404, Augustine 
held a second Manichaean disputation, this time with Felix, 
the successor of Fortunatus. His challenge to his adver- 
sary is contained in the following letter : 3 " Your attempts 

1 Cod. Theod., xvi, 5, 35. " Dominatori Vicario Af ricae. Noxios 
Manichaeos execrabilesque eorum conventus, dudum justa animadver- 
sione damnatos, etiam speciali praeceptione cohiberi decernimus. Qua- 
propter quaesiti adducantur in publicum ac detestati criminosi congrua 
et severissima emendatione resecentur. In eos etiam auctoritatis 
aculei dirigantur, qui eos domibus suis damnanda provisione de- 
fendent" 

2 Aug., In Faust., v, 8; Conf., v, 6, 10; Ret., ii, 7. 
8 Aug., Ep„ 79. 



202 POLITICS AND RELIGION 

at evasion are to no purpose; your real character is patent 
even a long way off. My brethren have reported to me 
their conversation with you. You say that you do not fear 
death ; it is well : but you ought to fear that death which 
you are bringing upon yourself by your blasphemous as- 
sertions concerning God. ... In the name of Christ, I de- 
mand of you to answer, if you are able, the question which 
baffled your predecessor, Fortunatus." The conference 
took place in the Church at Hippo, in the presence of a 
great multitude. 1 According to Augustine, Felix was de- 
feated and signed a recantation. This victory seems to 
have satisfied Augustine as far as this sect was concerned. 
They do not engage him hereafter. 

They, however, continued to be of moment to the secular 
powers. We find them included in the laws against heretics 
in the laws of the years 405 and again, following the fall 
of Stilicho, in 408. 2 Accusations were to be public, inqui- 
sition became a public duty and members of the sect were 
to be incapable of testating or inheriting and were for- 
bidden to donate, buy or sell, and the taint of heresy was 
to extend even after death. 

By a law of a later date they were forbidden residence 
at Rome, 3 lest they corrupt the common people, and this 
law was soon extended to apply to all the Emperor's do- 
mains. 4 The Emperors might well try to drive out the 
Manichaeans for they were enemies of the state; as such 
they were among the first to join the Arian Vandal invad- 
ers. 5 We find them still in Africa in the days of Leo the 

1 Aug., Ret., ii, 8; De Act. cum Pel. Man. 

2 Co d. Theod., xvi, 5, 38, cf. supra, p. 116; xvi, 5, 40; xvi, 5, 41, cf. 
supra, p. 122; xvi, 5, 42, cf. supra, p. 133; xvi, 5, 43, cf. supra, p. 134; 
xvi, 5, 45, c f. supra, p. 135. 

3 Cod. Theod., xvi, 5, 62 ; cf. Leo the Great, Serm., 41. 

4 Cod. Theod., xvi, 5, 64, cf. supra, p. 191. 

6 Victor Vitensis, Hist. Persec. Vandal., ii, 1. 



THE MANICHAEANS, PELAGIANS AND ARIANS 203 

Great who succeeded in obtaining against them an edict of 
banishment from the Emperor Valentinian III in 445. x 

II 

The Donatists were not yet under control when the 
African clergy disclosed another heresy, Pelagianism. 
This was to become the subject of no less than twenty-five 
councils and to involve not Africa alone but the whole of 
the Christian world. The teachings of this sect had had 
their origin at Rome but it was the watchful care of Au- 
gustine and the African clergy that branded them as hereti- 
cal. Pelagianism became a heresy as opposed to the Au- 
gustinian doctrines of grace and predestination. A dele- 
gate from Augustine, Paul Orosius, stirred up Jerome and 
the East to fight the new teachings. And later Augustine 
and his fellow-bishops forced the Roman bishops them- 
selves to condemn these doctrines. In fact this struggle 
was an attempt on the part of the African leaders to inter- 
pret and enforce the dogma of the church ; and moreover it 
was a successful endeavor. We have seen how Augustine 
had previously supervised his colleagues; how he had 
worked for the destruction of paganism and the suppres- 
sion of the Donatists ; how he had gained control over var- 
ious officials of the Roman government. Yet the climax 
of his power and influence came when he was dictating, to 
Rome itself, the attitude that it was to take toward Pela- 
gianism. Therein lies the importance of this new heresy 
for this study. 

Pelagius, the author of the new schism, was a Briton or 
Scot who came to Rome before the year 400. 2 He was 
what might be termed a city monk, a layman who lived ac- 

1 Leo, Ep., 8. 

2 Jerome, In Hier., in; Orosius, Apol., i, 4; 12, 3; Aug., Ep., 186, 1; 
Prosper, Chron., 413. 



204 POLITICS AND RELIGION 

cording to the monastic discipline. 1 He was austere, mod- 
est, timid and reserved ; in no sense a revolutionary heretic. 
Yet he was thoroughly educated, possessing a knowledge 
of Greek; a rather unusual accomplishment in those days. 2 
He seems to have gained a very large influence, having 
among his friends such persons as Paul of Nola, Simplicius 
Severus, Rufinus, Pammachius, Demetria and Proba. 35 
He corresponded with various bishops and was esteemed by 
Augustine himself. 4 His first convert was a noble lawyer 
named Celestius, 5 who was of the aggressive type and he it 
was who brought on the conflict with the orthodox. 

Pelagius and Celestius were of the number who mi- 
grated from Rome to Africa about the year 410. 6 From 
that time on their lives were a continuous struggle. Pela- 
gius himself passed on to the East but Celestius applied for 
admission to clerical orders. 7 It appears that Celestius' 
teachings had already been made known to the African 
clergy by Paul of Milan. 8 The bishops demanded an in- 
vestigation and a council was called by Aurelius, at Car- 
thage in 411 to consider the case. 9 Paul had summarized 
the errors of Celestius as follows : Adam would have died 
even if he had not sinned; Adam's faults affected only 
Adam; Infants at birth are in the same state as Adam 

1 Aug., De Gest. Pel., 35, 36; Jerome, In Hier., iii; Oros., Apol., 4; 
Zosimus, Ep., ad Afric. 

2 Aug., De Gest Pel, ii. 

3 Aug., De Grat., 35, 38; Pelagius, Ep., ad Innoc; Aug., Ep., 186, 1. 

4 Aug., Ep., 186, 1 ; De Pecc, ii, 25, 41 ; ii, 16, 25 ; iii, 1 ; Ret, ii, 33. 

5 Aug., De Gest. Pel, 35, 62. 

6 Marius Mercator, Comm., 132 ; Pelagius, Ep. ad Demetr., 30. 

7 Aug., Ep., 157, 22. 

8 Mar. Merc., Comm., 132. 

9 Mansi, op. cit., iv, 289-292 ; Aug., Ep., 175, 1 ; Ret., 2, 33 ; Ep., 139, 
2, 3 ; Harduin, op. cit., i, 1201. 



THE MAN1CHAEANS, PELAGIANS AND ARIANS 



205 



before his fall ; The human race is not to die for Adam's 
sin, nor to be resurrected because of the resurrection of 
Christ; The law leads to heaven just as surely as does the 
testament; There had been men without sin before Christ. 1 
Celestius defended himself on the grounds that the ortho- 
dox (citing Rufinus) were not agreed on these points, that 
they were still open questions. As a part of the acts of this 
council are lost we cannot be sure of the outcome. 2 We 
know, however, that Celestius left directly for the East. 

Augustine, although he was not at the council, 3 imme- 
diately took up the conflict. It is to be noted, however, 
that this attack was purely on the doctrines — it did not be- 
come a personal one, directed against the leaders, before 
41 5. 4 He preached against the doctrines, 5 and late in the 
year 411 or early in the year 412 he wrote his De Pecca- 
torum Meritis et Remissione et De Baptismo Parvulorum 
ad Marcellinum, and De Spiritu et Littera ad Marcellinum. 
These, it will be observed, were addressed to the imperial 
commissioner, and the reason was that he had been sought 
as a partisan of the new error, 6 and had written to Au- 
gustine for instruction. And of no less importance than 
these writings was the act of Augustine in despatching his 
disciple, Paul Orosius, to Jerome in the Orient with infor- 
mation regarding the new heresy. 7 

Pelagius had entered Palestine and it was against him 

1 Aug., De Pecc, iii, 4 ; De Gest. Pel., ii, 2, 3, 4 ; Hef ele, op. cit., ii, 
1, 169 et seq. 

2 Harduin, op. cit., i, 1201 ; Aug., De Grat., ii, 2, 3, 4; Mar. Mer.. 
Comm., 133. 

3 Aug., De Gest. Pel., 11, 23. 

4 Aug., Ret., ii, 33. 

6 Aug., Serin., 152, 153, 154. 155, 156, 158, 170, 174 176; Ret., ii, 33- 
6 Aug., De Gest. Pel., ii ; De Pec. Merit., i, 34 ; Ret., 33. 
T Possid., op. cit., 7, 8; Aug., Ep., 166. 



20 6 POLITICS AND RELIGION 

that Jerome and Orosius contended. A council was held 
at Jerusalem under the Presidency of John in 415. John 
of Jerusalem and Jerome had been made enemies by the 
proceedings of the late Origenistic controversy and so it is 
not surprising to find John taking the side of Pelagius. 1 
At the council Orosius acted as the champion for the ortho- 
dox. He read a statement of what had occurred at Car- 
thage. He mentioned that Augustine was writing against 
the heresy and produced a letter from Augustine to Hilary 
of Syracuse against the doctrines of Pelagius. 2 Here we 
see a deliberate effort on the part of Augustine to control 
the Eastern situation; it, however, was not successful. 
Orosius was not well suited for his mission and Jerome 
was not the politician that Augustine was. As Orosius 
could speak no Greek, Pelagius who was well educated in 
that language was at an advantage. He showed his disre- 
gard for Augustine by replying when the bishop's authority 
was cited by Orosius : " What does Augustine matter to 
me ? " The council decided to submit all of the testimony 
to Innocent of Rome. Orosius who had expected the con- 
demnation of Pelagius was very much disgusted at this 
outcome and departed for the West. 3 Another council of 
December, 415, held at Diospolis in Palestine, was even less 
successful. At this the West was represented by bishops 
Heros and Lazarus. These men are rather vague histori- 
cal figures. We learn that they were driven from their 
bishoprics of Aries and Aix because of the part they had 
taken in the usurpation of Constantine. 4 We have no 
definite statement as to why they appear in the East at this 

1 Aug., De Gest. Pel, ii, 23. 

2 Orosius, Liber Apologeticus pro Arbitrii Libertate, which contains 
nearly all of our information regarding this council. Aug., Ep., 156* 

8 Oros., Lib. Apol., iv, 310. 

4 Duchesne Fastes episcopaux, i, 94, cf. supra, p. 129. 



THE MANICHAEANS, PELAGIANS AND ARIANS 207 

time. They held a conference with Orosius before he re- 
turned to Africa and then worked for the Augustinian 
cause in the conference at Diospolis. They were not well 
received, 1 and the council declared Pelagius worthy of 
communion, at which Jerome was greatly indignant. He 
applies to this synod the term " Miser abilis." 2 

The unsatisfactory results of these eastern councils 
aroused the African clergy. Orosius had returned with 
the account of the failure of his efforts at Jerusalem and 
through him Heros and Lazarus made known the results 
of the council at Diospolis. 3 Africa realized that it must 
now consult with Rome and accordingly two synods, 4 the 
one of Carthage, the other of Milive, each confirmed the 
acts of the council of 41 1 against Celestius and sent letters 
to the Roman bishop Innocent treating of the Pelagian 
situation. 5 The letter of the Council of Carthage is more 
than a statement of the situation; it definitely and clearly 
outlines for the Roman bishop what his line of conduct in 
the matter should be. It is Africa admonishing Rome. 

When, as was our custom, we had come solemnly to the church 
at Carthage and for various causes were holding a synod, our 
co-presbyter, Orosius, gave us the letters of the holy brothers, 
our fellow priests, Heros and Lazarus, whose statement we 
have determined to add to this. After reading these we per- 
ceived that Pelagius and Celestius, the guilty authors of the 
error, ought again to be anathematized by us all. Whence it 

1 Aug., De Gest. Pel., i, 2 ; Jerome, Ep., 143, 2. They were esteemed 
by Augustine (Ep., 175, 1) but disliked by Zosimus of iRome (Jaffe, 
op. cit., 330. 

2 Jerome, Ep., 142. 

8 Aug., Epp., 175, 1 ; 186, 2. 

4 Hefele, op. cit., ii, 1 ; Aug., Epp., 176, 5 ; 186, 2. 

*Aug., Epp., 175, 176. 



208 POLITICS AND RELIGION 

was decreed that we seek to recount what was enacted nearly 
five years ago concerning Celestius by the Carthaginian coun- 
cil. This having been done, O holy brother, we felt that your 
Holiness ought to be informed that the authority of the apos- 
tolic see might be added to our mediocrity for guarding the 
safety of many and for correcting the perversity of others. 
Wherefore, even if Pelagius and Celestius should be corrected, 
or if they should declare that such has never been their opinion 
and dismiss all the writings imputed to them, and they could 
not be proven by evidence to have lied; nevertheless all men 
teaching or holding that the human nature is sufficient in itself 
for the escaping of sin and keeping the commandments of God 
and all men declaring themselves opponents of the doctrine 
of grace, to which the prayers of the saints have given such 
brilliant evidence, should be anathematized ; also all those who 
deny that infants are delivered from perdition by the baptism 
of Jesus Christ or who hold that without this baptism they may 
obtain eternal life. 1 

Similar action was taken by the bishops at Milive. In 
a letter to Innocent they demand that he show his fidelity 
to the church and the apostolic see in the great danger 
that was threatened. 2 And that Innocent might be fully 
convinced of the seriousness of the pleas, five of the lead- 
ing African bishops, including Aurelius, Augustine and 
Possidius wrote him a personal appeal. 3 They demand a 
remedy equal to the peril. They show the number of the 
followers of the new heresy in Africa and at Rome. They 
then try to show the Roman bishop the course he should 
pursue : " Either Pelagius ought by your Reverence to be 
called to Rome and diligently interrogated about grace, 
fate, sin, etc., or this should be treated of with him by letter. 
And if he be found to hold what the church and apostolic 

1 Aug., Ep., 175. 3 Ibid., 176. 

* Ibid., 177. 



THE MANICHAEANS, PELAGIANS AND ARIANS 



209 



truth teaches, with no scruples on the part of the church 
and without ambiguity, let him be absolved and let truth 
rejoice in his cleansing. Let Pelagius anathematize his 
writings — or if he denies that they are his and says that 
his enemies wrote them, let the writings be anathematized 
and condemned by paternal authority and your sanctity. ,, 

Innocent, in response to these three letters, 1 approved 
in part the attitude of the African councils, though he was 
not certain as to whether there were heretics of this sort 
at Rome, and though it would be impracticable to cite 
Pelagius to Rome. However, until they should come to 
their senses, Pelagius and Celestius were to be excommu- 
nicated, apostolici vigoris auctoritate. 2 And Augustine, 
preaching on the twenty-third of September, 416, said: s 
" Already two councils have sent their decisions on those 
subjects to the apostolic see from which favorable answers 
have been received, the cause is finished." But such was 
not the case. 

Early in the year 417 Innocent died and was succeeded 
by Zosimus. Celestius appeared personally at Rome and 
succeeded in winning the bishop to his support. 4 Zosimus, 
thereupon, despatched a letter to the African bishops jus- 
tifying Celestius and blaming them for believing the tes- 
timony of Heros and Lazarus and even threatening them 
with excommunication and deposition. 5 Later he took a 
similar position regarding Pelagius. This called the 
African bishops again to action. A council assembled at 
Carthage in 418 and informed the Roman bishop that the 

1 Jaffe, op. cit., 321-323; Aug., Epp., 181-183. 

1 Aug., Ep., 182, 6. 

8 Aug., Serm., 131, 10. 

4 Jaffe, op. cit.; Zos., Ep., 329; Aug., De Pec. Or., 7, 8. 

6 Mansi, op. cit., iv, 355 ; Zos., Ep., ed. Jaffe, 330. 



2io POLITICS AND RELIGION 

sentence of his predecessor, Innocent, would stand : 1 "We 
have decided that the sentence pronounced against Pela- 
gius and Celestius by the venerable bishop Innocent shall 
stand until they shall have declared by a very definite con- 
fession that the grace of God, etc." Zosimus' response in 
his letter of March the twenty-first (418), was to the 
point : 2 " Our authority being such that no one may oppose 
our judgment, we have to do nothing except of our own 
will." Another council was called at Carthage for May the 
first, 418, which adopted eight canons anathematizing 
Pelagius and Celestius and confirming the position of In- 
nocent 3 The discussion grew very heated, the Roman 
representatives citing the canons of Nicea and the Africans 
disputing the authenticity of the redaction quoted. The re- 
sult was a victory for Africa, for apparently the African 
Church had turned its attention to the other power at 
Rome. At least the Emperor took the matter up and con- 
demned the heresy by an edict of the thirtieth of April, 
418, 4 which later he strengthened by rescripts sent to the 
African bishops, Augustine and Aurelius. The one of the 
ninth of June, 419, to Aurelius, reads: 5 

It had long ago been decreed that Pelagius and Celestius, the 
authors of an execrable heresy, should as pestilent corrupters 
of Catholic truth, be expelled from Rome, lest they should per- 
vert by their baneful influence the minds of the ignorant. In 
this our clemency followed up the judgment of your Holiness, 
according to which it is beyond all question that they were 
unanimously condemned after an impartial examination of their 

1 Mansi, op. cit., iv, 376-378 ; cf. Aug., De Pec. Or., 7, 8. 

2 Mansi, op. cit., ii, 366 ; Hef ele, op. cit., ii, 1, 190. 

3 Mansi, op. cit., iii, 810-823; iv, 377; Hef ele, op. cit, ii, 1, 190-196; 
Harduin, op. cit., i, 926. 

4 Harduin, op. cit., i, 1229 et seq. 
6 Aug., Ep., 201, 1. 



THE MANICHAEANS, PELAGIANS AND ARIANS 2 II 

opinions. Their obstinate persistence in the offence having, 
however, made it necessary to issue the decree a second time, 
we have further enacted by a recent decree, that if anyone 
knows that they are concealing themselves in any part of the 
provinces and delay either to drive them out or to disclose 
them, he, as an accomplice, shall be liable to the punishment 
prescribed. 

However, to secure the combined efforts of the Christian 
zeal of all men for the destruction of this preposterous heresy, 
it will be proper, most dearly beloved Father, that the author- 
ity or your Holiness be applied to the correction of certain 
bishops, who either support the evil reasonings of these men 
by their silent consent or abstain from assailing them with 
open opposition. Let your Reverence, then, by suitable writ- 
ings, cause all bishops to be admonished, as soon as they shall 
know by the order of your Holiness, that this order is laid 
upon them, that whoever shall, through impious obstinacy ne- 
glect to vindicate the purity of their doctrine by subscribing to 
the condemnation of the persons before mentioned, shall, after 
having been punished by the loss of episcopal office, be excom- 
municated and banished from their sees for life. For, as, by 
a sincere confession of the truth, we ourselves, in obedience 
to the Council of Nicea, worship God as the Creator of all 
things, and as the Fountain of our imperial sovereignty, your 
Holiness will not suffer the members of this odious sect, in- 
venting, to the injury of religion, notions new and strange, to 
conceal in writings privately circulated an error condemned 
by public authority. For, most beloved and loving father, the 
guilt of heresy is in no degree less grievous in those who dis- 
simulate and thus support the error by not denouncing it, 
thus extending to it a fatal approbation. 

The Emperor having condemned the heresy, Zosimus gave 
in to the African councils and anathematized Pelagius and 
Celestius and in an encyclic letter condemned their doc- 
trines. 1 
j x Mar. Merc, Comm., 134. 



212 



POLITICS AND RELIGION 



Thus Pelagianism was officially destroyed in the Occi- 
dent, though by its persistence it caused new edicts in 419 
and 42 1. 1 A sporadic outburst in a monastery in Africa 
caused Augustine to write his Libri duo Gratia Christi et 
De Peccato Originali. In Gaul they continued to cause 
trouble and furnish us later the basis for semipelagianism. 
In the East they were condemned by the Council of Ephe- 
sus in 431. 

Ill 

Pagans, Donatists, Manichaeans and Pelagians being 
disposed of, Augustine was destined in his last days to 
combat yet another enemy of his faith. And in this case 
the political situation led to the triumph of the enemy just 
as in the former it had turned to the profit of the orthodox. 
Arianism was at this time definitely the religion of the 
barbarians and the close of Augustine's career marks 
their invasions into Africa. Their first real triumph came 
when Augustine's disciple, Boniface, the militant champion 
of orthodoxy, married an Arian princess from the Spanish 
tribes. 2 Boniface, thereby, became an outcast from the 
ranks of the faithful and his camp became the place of 
refuge for all the discontented of whatever faith. Dis- 
senters in great numbers flocked to his standards. Au- 
gustine, though old and feeble, took up the challenge. He 
began anew his conferences with heretical leaders. One 
was held with Pascentius at Carthage, 3 another with Maxi- 
minus at Hippo. 4 He wrote Contra Maximinum and Sermo 
de Arianis. However, he was too old to keep up the fight. 
He did not live to see the triumph of the enemy but died as 
the Vandals were besieging Hippo in the year 430. 



1 Aug., Ep., 201. 

8 Possid., op. cit., 17. 



a Aug., Ep., 220. 
4 Ibid., 17. 



THE MANICHAEANS, PELAGIANS AND ARIANS 213 

With the death of the leader and the triumph of the 
Vandals, Augustine's political machine went to pieces. 
There was no longer need for the pretensions of the 
African Church and its councils. Yet Augustine's numer- 
ous combats left an abundant literature, which as a party 
of the renaissance of the twelfth century was to furnish 
the directing principles for the legal suppression of unbe- 
lief. Augustine's legal training and his strict adherence to 
a legal basis for all of his actions furnished principles 
which were eagerly seized upon by Western Europe with 
the revival of Roman law. We have seen how these prin- 
ciples had grown up. Their later use was not determined 
by any existing conditions. Actions which had been taken 
to fit a particular circumstance or case became principles 
applicable to all cases of heresy. It did not matter in what 
setting the words were used ; it was sufficient to know that 
the greatest of the Fathers had said : " Let the lions now 
be turned to break in pieces the bones of the calumniators, 
and let no intercession for them be made by Daniel when 
he has been proven innocent." 1 Thus it was that Au- 
gustine's works became the great source of justification for 
intolerance. 

1 Aug., Ep., 185, 2, 7; 5, 19. 



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VITA 

Edward Frank Humphrey, the author of this study, 
was born in Winnebago, Minnesota, on the twenty- 
second of April, 1878. His secondary school training 
was received in the Winnebago public schools; his col- 
lege work was taken at the University of Minnesota, 
from which institution he was graduated with the A. B. 
degree in the year 1903. In the year 1909 he was 
granted an A. M. degree by Columbia University. His 
graduate work in history has been carried on in the 
departments of European and American history. At 
Columbia courses were taken with Professors Robinson, 
Shotwell, Osgood, Beard and Johnson. In addition one 
semester was spent at the Sorbonne in the ficole prat- 
ique des hautes fitudes. 

221 






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